Menu
Are you ready to learn everything you ever wanted to know about the basic sentence “C’est bon”?
This include a complete guide of what it is and how to use it in a casual conversation with an audio example. And that’s not all, we also sprinkled some super useful stuff like slow pronunciation audio, dialogue example, synonyms and more!
Oh and in case you are interested, you will find more of these sentences guides on this page plus the ultimate list of all our French words pages on this page. C’est parti ! (Let’s go!)
Slow pronunciation
Normal pronunciation
The literal meaning is:
It generally means “It’s good” in English, but not always depending on context, as you will see in the next paragraph.
Also, people often think “C’est bon” and “C’est bien” are synonyms, but this is not true. Because the adverb “bien” means “well” and the adjective “bon” means “good” and so we don’t use them in the same situations.
A good rule of thumb is that you should use “C’est bien” if talking about general things and “C’est bon” if talking about physical sensations (a.k.a. body sensations).
Let’s see the different usages with some examples!
Scenario 1: it means “It’s good” when talking about food, weather or pretty much anything. For example while eating a burger “C’est bon ça” (That’s good) or “C’est bon, ce burger” (This burger is good) or even just “C’est bon” (It’s good)
Scenario 2: it means “It’s done” or “That’s enough” when you want to say that you had enough of something or something is completed. For example: “C’est bon, j’ai fini mes devoirs” (It’s done, I finished my homeworks) or if someone is pouring you water: “C’est bon, merci” (It’s enough, thanks).
In this case, with the right tone, it can also show exasperation, for example: “C’est bon arrête !” (That’s enough, stop it!)
Scenario 3: it could mean “It’s right” / “It’s correct“. For example, someone asks: “C’est bon ce que j’ai fait ?” (Is what I did correct?“) and you can answer “Oui, c’est bon” (Yes, it’s correct).
Ok, I admit, there is a last scenario… a sexy one…
Remember when I told you that “C’est bon” means “That’s good“? Well, it’s true, but it’s also famous to be used during (good) sex and in porn movies.
But don’t worry, it doesn’t have a vulgar reputation and won’t be wrongly interpreted, you can use it without risks. But just know that it can be part of dirty talk too…
Some antonyms:
Dialogue audio
If you want to learn French but don’t know how, there is a solution…
Are you ready to discover the 5-step process to become fluent in French?
It’s free!