You use it to describe how the action of a verb is. You can’t really say “…I recommend you to learn grammar…” You can say, “I recommend that you learn grammar” or more simply and less formally, “I recommend you learn grammar.” Even though it’s most often used as an adjective, “bon” is also a noun: “le bon” or “la bonne” if feminine. But I looked into this and you are absolutely right. Do you mind if I also make a comment about English? When you’re learning a language, some phrases seem like a dream come true, easy to understand and translate. C’est bon maintenant ! The literal meaning is: Bon → Good; Appétit → Appetite; It’s the famous French way to wish someone who is eating or about to eat “Enjoy your meal” / “Have a nice meal“.There is a constant rumor from foreign people saying that it’s a “cliché” and that French people are not really using it.. For example: C’est bon, ce livre (This book is good). Then there’s “I feel fine” immortalised by the Beatles no less. Note that this is NOT the equivalent of something being good for your health. The closest meaning in English is “Hang in there ” or “You can do it ” or “Be strong “. Example: C’est bon que tu aimes ton beau-père. That’s a rather formal term that is mainly used in a legal context. Les details les explications et le fait que l’on puisse toujours apprendre. French. Wow. He is also the creator of a marketing blog called Grow With Less. This is the same as « Comme c’est bon », just longer to say and a slight bit more formal. bonbon definition: 1. a sweet that is soft in the middle: 2. a tube of brightly coloured paper, given at Christmas…. » So, don’t be afraid to use it or shocked by hearing it. More. This is not an … "C'est si bon" is a French popular song composed in 1947 by Henri Betti with the lyrics by André Hornez.The English lyrics were written in 1949 by Jerry Seelen.The song is … Someone might reply, «C’est bien de penser aux choses qui te rendent heureuse. the third will serve as a well-kept field. It can also be used like the informal English expression “I’m good.”  For example: « Tu veux encore des haricots? Or “Ce n’est pas bon, ce gateau” (This cake is no good). Human translations with examples: bon, a b, use, good, dinky, token, backup, relief, oh well, standby, first aid. Etymology and history. (This onion soup is good! All right, technically this meaning of c’est bon is exactly the same as its literal meaning: “That’s/It’s good.” But it’s worth noting that this is a phrase commonly uttered during sex (well, good sex anyway) in mainstream and porn films, as well as in real life. You can use “bon” to say someone is good at something, but it also has a sexual meaning in modern French, so use it at your own risk. “Bien” is used before some adjectives to intensify their meaning. The word "bonbon" arose from the reduplication of the word So, you should say “I don’t feel well” – Je ne me sens pas bien. Here are several common situations in which you’d use “bon”. But just thought to point it out. This is one of my favorite French expressions. You can complete the translation of le bon given by the French-English Collins dictionary with other dictionaries such as: Wikipedia, Lexilogos, Larousse dictionary, Le Robert, Oxford, Grévisse C’est bon is one of those, as its name coincidentally implies. Or maybe you just encountered them together for the first time earlier in this very article. Unfortunately, we also use the adjective “well” to mean “not ill.” So, “I don’t feel well” can literally mean that you do feel ill. English, huh—it’s just as hard as French, even for those of us who have spoken it forever. On the contrary, you would say “C’est une bonne chanteuse” (she is a good singer). You may have seen both of these very similar phrases before. “Bien” is an adverb and is therefore irregular (like all French adverbs). Try to ask French people what’s the difference, and you’ll only get confused answers. Let’s take a closer look at this phrase that’s often confused with its cousin, c’est bien, and whose meaning ranges from basic approval, to pornography. Il est bon de manger des légumes. Bien means good in the general sense, and biens means goods (as opposed to … Answer Save. Also called: Feast of Lanterns or Festival of Lanterns an annual festival celebrated by Japanese Buddhists 2. I agree. For example, “elle chante bien”. Just a postscript on current use of “good” in English when asked how you are. But I like how the French expression suggests that you were just waiting for that person who was the good fit for your life. De bon matin, on pouvait y croiser les camions des teams De Rooy, Kamaz, Tatra ou encore Man, prêts à se livrer une bataille féroce. For example: C’est trop bon, ce film. » (“Do you want more beans? A few paragraphs back, I said that I often think, “C’est si bon, le chocolat.” But my chocolate-related sentiments better translate to the extremely common informal phrase, C’est trop bon – “It’s too good”. You can read about her adventures here, or feel free to stop by her website. The French know when to use “bon” and when to use “bien”, but very few can explain why. Was it, in fact, bon, or did you make a funny mistake? Favorite Answer 'Bonne nuit' means good night or good evening in French (pronounced bon wee) 3 0. The latter shows enthusiasm and/or surprise, while c’est un(e) bon(ne)… is a more general way to state an opinion. For example, if you went to see a movie, a French friend would ask you “Alors, c’était bien, ce film?”. Should you use “bon” or “bien”? Instead, it’s typically part of a longer sentence. Late to the topic, however… That’s enough, now!). Most of the time “bien” means “well” while “bon” means “good”. Elle est la bonne could mean “She’s the maid.” And Il est bon/Elle est bonne would mean the person is good in bed. In this case, it means “really”. “Bone-ee-VARE.” The name Bon Iver is based on the French bon hiver, meaning “good winter,” but it’s not really French. Still a bit confused? Like Ça suffit, in this context c’est bon is often followed by the word maintenant. bon wee means have a nice weekend, i believe. You can use “bon” to say someone is good at something, but it also has a sexual meaning in modern French, so use it at your own risk. Quand est-ce qu’on utilise c’est bon de et c’est bon à? »  « Non merci, c’est bon pour moi. Songwriter, singer, and … So if you’re just stating an opinion, it’s better to stick with C’est un(e) bon/bonne…. That’s one of the reasons I love languages – even in our native one, there are always things to learn and discover. French. That’s why I recommend you to learn grammar through exposure to the language. Suggest an example. It sets my teeth on edge but I expect we’re stuck with it. bon translate: good, good, good, good, good, good, good person, voucher, token, voucher, beneficial, correct, due…. If you think my mind is in the gutter, you only have to do an online search for “C’est bon” – you’ll see the Urban Dictionary definition (that is, this sexy meaning) as one of the top results. The exaggeration in this phrase makes it informal; after all, the French tend to downplay their enthusiasm. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/well_2. The way I understand it, we say “I’m good” because “well” is an adverb except when used as an adjective usually for health. Note that the verb in this phrase has to be conjugated in the subjunctive. C’est bon de… and Il est bon de… generally mean the same thing: “It’s good to …”  But Il est bon de… has a more formal, less personal context. The more you read, hear and simply spend time with French, the easier it will be for you to intuitively understand how to use the language. I wonder if that was American originally? For example, Ce n’est pas bon de voler. The distinction between “bien” and “bon” is one of the most complex aspect of the French language. The best, most concise explanation I’ve found for when to use which comes from this article: C’est bon is used when talking about physical sensations/the body. But we often see it translated as “Good luck ” which is making people confusing it with “Bonne chance ” (The actual way to say “Good luck ” in French). After teaching French and English in South Korea for 7 months as part of a French government program, he created French Together™ to help English speakers learn the 20% of French that truly matters. Although you may hear something like, Le jus d’orange, c’est bon pour toi (Orange juice is good for you), it’s much more common to hear this expressed as, Le jus d’orange, c’est bon pour la santé. This may seem to make things more complicated, but actually, it’s the opposite. what does ¨bon wee¨ mean in french? You would need to complete the phrase by saying “I’m doing well,” in order for the correct sense to come across, as “I am well” implies healthy as opposed to ill. That’s also why we say I feel good and not a feel well. ), C’est bon de manger des légumes. It’s the equivalent of “well” in most situations. So for example, let’s go back to that phrase I think on the daily, C’est trop bon, le chocolat! You can also do that in French. Translations in context of "c'est bon" in French-English from Reverso Context: c'est un bon, c'est pas bon, c'est le bon, c'est du bon, c'est un très bon. For #3, wouldn’t it translate as “I really like Spanish music”, where “bien” serves as to amplify the verb “aimer”? C’est bon, cette soupe à l’oignon! = Wow, this book is really good. – Oui, c’est bon pour moi. Let’s say that you had a terrible time but that the movie itself was good. Good night. Mais, c’est bon ! Example: Si on se voit vendredi, c’est bon pour toi? Benjamin Houy is a native French speaker and tea drinker with a BA degree in Applied Foreign Languages and a passion for languages. You can use “bon” to say something is correct or incorrect. In other words, did they do the exercises right? You use it to talk about a state of being, to describe a person or an object. It means you’ve found the perfect person for you to spend your life with. Or, rather, it can be. You’re absolutely right that “I feel good” is normal – unforgettable as well thanks to James Brown! In the late 17th century, English speakers borrowed this French phrase, which literally means "good liver." But you can’t, you should say “je me sens bien”. It may have been a particular phrase, I wish I could remember! English. Translation Spell check Synonyms Conjugation. But the truth is, c’est bon can mean so much more. Chuma. “Le bien” means “the good”. But in this case, they’re asking about the overall experience of going to the movie, the movie itself, etc., which is not a sensorial experience but rather an abstract combination of events in which they did not take part. C’est bon de… is a bit less formal and can have a personal context. Not only is this correct grammar; when you say Je ne me sens pas bon, French people will understand “I think I smell bad.”. To make it easier to understand, here are 11 common situations where you should either use “bien” or “bon”. (Note: I'm speaking as a Frenchman, I believe Canadian French uses “bonne chance” more often.) If you don’t want to stop at c’est bon, but want to specify what’s so good, you usually add it after the phrase. (It’s good to eat vegetables/It’s good that you eat vegetables.). To say I feel well implies above all that we have good tactile sensation, and to say I feel good implies that we are in a positive state. No, it’s fine thanks. Lv 7. (It is good to eat vegetables. » (That’s good to know!). She has taught English and French for more than ten years, most notably as an assistante de langue vivante for L'Education Nationale. Bourre (boo-ray): French for "stuffed”, it is the name of a Cajun card game which requires the loser of a hand to stuff the pot with chips. Cette soupe est très bonne, tu (ne) sais pas ce que tu rates. » (Come on, enough now – stop telling me that I don’t know how to do it!). Contextual translation of "bon secours" into English. What would current in 2018? Then, you could say something like: « Je suis arrivé en retard et il n’y avait plus de popcorn ; heureusement, c’est un bon film. Cajun (cay-jun): The word Cajun began in 19th century Acadie. With this third meaning, c’est bon veers off a bit. You’ll often hear French people finish a task and say “C’est bon!” or plan something: «Alors, on fait le ménage, on déjeune, et puis c’est bon, on partira. Last Update: 2018-10-02 Usage Frequency: 1 Quality: Reference: Anonymous. With that in mind, C’est bon can be used to express exasperation – for example, «Oh l à l à, c’est bon, arrête de me dire que je ne sais pas faire. Young and middle-aged people often use it, but older French people most likely will not. That sort of thing does make teaching another language to the English very difficult because they don’t learn the rules of grammar any more so don’t understand the rules in other languages. For me, the sentence with “bien” is less strong but other people may have a different opinion. 9 years ago. Confusing c’est bon and c’est bien is a common mistake for us French learners. ….Then they’d probably add,  « Mais tu ne peux pas arrêter de parler de chocolat ? a great popular festival of Japan held July 13 to 16 when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars Like many other expressions that have been borrowed from French (such as the more well-known bonjour, meaning “good day,” “good morning,” or simply “hello”), bonsoir is typically used in English to … In general, if you know English, you can usually directly translate the preposition or article you’d use in English into French. Whatever its meaning in a particular context, the negative form of c’est bon, as you’ve probably guessed, is ce n’est pas bon. I cannot bring myself to use it. You can complete the translation of bon vent ! You made a mistake sir, this isn’t the right ticket. That said, this kind of statement is less common than simply saying  C’est un bon livre. How to form a basic sentence with c’est bon. Since you say “I feel good” in English, it’s tempting to say “Je me sens bon”. If a French person is 1. talking fast, 2. a young kid just mastering their language, or 3. using informal or “street” language, you’ll usually hear them say C’est pas bon instead. “Bon courage” also implies some ordeal, some difficulty (though it can be the difficulty of day-to-day life). vs. C’est un bon livre. I’m not quite clear on the difference between indicating correctness and expressing satisfaction as you have laid it out–let me understand, taking from your examples: Someone could ask “C’est bon comme ça?” and the answer could come back “Oui, c’est bon” meaning essentially, “yes, that works/ is right,” or the answer could be “Oui, c’est bien”–which would basically mean “Yes (and, in addition), it’s good.” Do I have that more or less right? With Reverso you can find the French translation, definition or synonym for bon vent ! = It’s/This is a good book. ), Lundi soir à 18h, c’est bon pour toi ? Display … What’s the difference between c’est bon and c’est bien? bon marche Means (of an item for sale) low in price; worth more than its cost. Be careful to always use C’est, not Il or Elle est. It’s really horrible and I heard an English learner use it yesterday, plus a BBC presenter last week. I repeatedly hear “Bon ben”, but I don’t like it! “Feel” is one of those linking verbs that take an adjective as a complement (rather than an advert as an adverbial). Normally, this sentence simply means the neighbour is a good and kind person. (It’s not good to steal.) Bon definition: an annual festival celebrated by Japanese Buddhists | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples For example, when I was teaching English in French elementary schools, after they filled out the worksheets I gave them, the kids would ask me, C’est bon? Use this greeting to congratulate someone on his or her birthday. That doesn’t seem to make much sense; after all, if you want to say the film is good, you’d use the adjective, bon. I would use bon here because I’m talking about the taste of chocolate, a sensorial experience. This soup is very good, you don’t know what you’re missing. Alysa Salzberg is an American writer, worrier, teacher, and cookie enthusiast who has lived in Paris, France, for more than a decade. However, most young French people will understand it as “the neighbour is hot” or “the neighbour is good in bed”. So, at least for us Americans, if you feel ill, your first instinct is to say Je ne me sens pas bon, the literal translation of “I don’t feel good.”  But in French, as in many other forms of English (and, many people would point out, proper grammar) you should only modify a verb with an adverb. Bien is used here because they’re referring to an experience or way of thinking, not a physical sensation. If you ask someone (particularly a young person) how they are and they say ‘I’m fine’ they’re usually politely telling you that they don’t want to talk, so instead of using ‘I’m fine’ in a traditional sense that you actually are fine, you say ‘I’m good which doesn’t have the same connotations that you want the person to leave you alone. I learnt that for people and pets, “aimer” means “to love”, but if you add an adverb, like in aimer bien, it means “to like”. Best, Super. Janet:) 9 years ago. It seems that in the case of “feel”, it is indeed considered an adjective, not an adverb, which has me going wild because there are all those people out there who correct others and say you should say “well,” not “good” when you talk about how you feel. Here’s something I think at least once a day: C’est si bon, le chocolat. Over 100,000 English translations of French words and phrases. An old politically correct swearing word used mainly in Quebec by the french canadians.Deformation of the words "Bon dieu"(good God),which were considered as swearing by the original french people that first colonisated Quebec, and thus were a little arranged. It’s much more common for French people to say C’est un bon or C’est une bonne followed by a noun, to express that something is good, than C’est bon(ne), ce(tte) [noun]. Early morning visitors could have come across the trucks of the De Rooy, Kamaz, Tatra and Man teams, ready to get stuck into a fierce battle for victory. A few examples: Vous voulez du sucre avec votre café ? This variation of c’est bon is actually the most common one of them all. The French say je vais bien because they’re literally saying I am going well with bien as an adverb modifying the verb aller. C’est bien is used when talking about general things/the mind. Note that this structure works because it implies a ton of enthusiasm for something; if you just want to say something is good, or even very good, but in a more neutral way, the most common phrase with bon that you’ll hear to do this is C’est un bon film or C’est un très bon film. “Bon” is an adjective or noun that’s usually equivalent to “good”. 4 0. » (But could you stop talking about chocolate? English. If you want to say an action is good, you would use C’est bon de… followed by the infinitive. In English, you can say “I don’t feel well,” but in American English, at least, “I don’t feel good”, while grammatically incorrect, is much more common (just think about poor Spiderman’s words to Iron Man in “Avengers: Infinity War”). Although you’re right – this doesn’t have any particular bearing on this French-related post, thank you all the same for sharing your thoughts on this and for educating me. The problem, of course, is that the two phrases are so similar and basically mean the same thing. Check out this article to learn more about this meaning of “bon” (and discover hilarious mistakes French learners made). It doesn’t jar though. Anonymous. Usage notes: Bon courage is an essential French expression for offering verbal support before or during a difficult task. But you would only use this phrase if you’re directly addressing someone about something they’re doing or thinking of doing, or if you’re in an informal setting; otherwise, you’d say Il est bon de…  I’ll talk more about this a little later on. If you’re satisfied with something or someone, you can use “bien” to express it. Do I have to ? If the difference between c’est bon and c’est bien seems clear now, it doesn’t always simplify things. (Does Monday evening at 6 o’clock work for you?). In English, we call this person “the one”, which is also beautiful in its way. bon (feminine bone, masculine plural bons, feminine plural bones, comparative moillous, superlative moillous) ), « C’est bon à savoir ! English words for bon bon include candy, sweet, lollipop, taffy and comfit. They tell you, «Comme c’est bon! That being said, there aren’t always hard and fast rules for using bon and bien in French, and the divide between the two can be somewhat vague, especially when it comes to a short phrase like c’est bon or c’est bien. But there are so many exceptions one can hardly consider that a rule. 1 1. In this case, it means “That’s enough” or sometimes even “It’s done.”  A synonym in French is a phrase you’ve probably heard, Ça suffit. Hi, Benjamin, just a quick comment on English. We mean liver, as in "one who lives" - in this case, "one who lives well." English Translation of “bon” | The official Collins French-English Dictionary online. She sings how? You passed your exam, well done! n 1. A clearer example would be: I feel sleepy. ». Note that you can also say c’est tellement bon. Strangely enough, “j’aime” means “I love” while “j’aime bien” means “I like”. The perfect way to illustrate this is with a funny (and sometimes embarrassing) mistake many of us non-native French speakers have made or will make at some point. Write your comment below this article, I’m looking forward to reading it :). So, you should say “I don’t feel well” – Je ne me sens pas bien.”, I haven’t finished reading your entire post, but the point made in this sentence about English is not correct. I had a French teacher (Parisienne, and she wanted us to learn “proper” French in the sense that we would say, “Queens English” . Non c’est bon merci, Do you want sugar with your coffee? ” “No thanks, I’m good.”), Taking things a bit farther, you can go from “enough” to “done”. Think of it this way: C’est bon, ce livre. In this case you describe the person and therefore use the adjective “bon”. With Reverso you can find the French translation, definition or synonym for le bon and thousands of other words. If you translate c’est bon word-for-word, this is what you get, and it’s perfectly correct. Examples of bon vivant in a Sentence Don’t worry! » (It’s good to think about things that make you happy.) This is mostly because of the evolution of ‘I’m fine’. Remember what I wrote before; C’est un(e)  bon(ne)… is the most typical way to say something is good. Relevance. Glenn. In the case of c’est bon, you have several options. RE. » (In France, pains au chocolat aren’t expensive. The first two meanings of c’est bon are somewhat related; after all, if something is correct, it’s generally considered to be good, as well. I was a straight-A student in every English and writing class I ever took, and took some linguistics courses in college. Ages ago I learnt “Eh bien” as an equivalent to starting a comment with “Well…” but I expect that that’s very dated now. So pleased to find someone else who does not agree with the “modern” use of “good”. Have you ever used the phrase c’est bon in French? Bon can be a noun that refers to any sort of important or official piece of paper: form, bond, coupon, voucher, etc. Example: « En France, un pain au chocolat ne coûte pas cher. (lit: well played), La réplique est bien faite, on dirait presque un original, The replica is well done, it almost looks like an original (work). For everything else, “aimer” only means “to like”. When you use them to make a sentence, some French phrases are closely associated with a particular preposition or article. Got a question or a rule you’d like to share? The good news is, the more you hear and use these phrases, the more you’ll start to instinctively use them the right way – trust me. Merci! It’s the perfect temperature. That’s a simple question, with a complicated answer. This is a common mistake French learners make. As in languages like English, you can use it to talk about everything from food, to water temperature, to plans. All right, technically this meaning of c’est bon is exactly the same as its literal meaning: “That’s/It’s good.” But it’s worth noting that this is a phrase commonly uttered during sex (well, good sex anyway) in mainstream and porn films, as well as in real life. bon champ. If they were to say je suis bien, that would be incorrect. Never, in any of that time, do I recall of my teachers or professors specifically explaining that “well” is not just an adverb. In English, you can use “well” before a verb and create constructions like “well built” or well done”. You can find more examples of c’est bon and the many different prepositions used with it in this extensive list. Somewhere in my mind I remembered that “bien” in some situations is considered “bad” French but I have forgotten why! It could.