The French phrase "Je vous en prie" revealed

Get prepared to discover all the things you ever wanted to know about the basic French sentence “Je vous en prie”.

Are included a detailed explanation of what it is and how to use it in a conversation with an audio example. But wait, we also sprinkled some useful informations like synonym, dialogue example, slow pronunciation audio and more!

Finally, on this page you will find our others sentences guides plus the ultimate list of all our French words tutorials on this page. Wish you a good learning!

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English translation

Pronunciation guide

Slow pronunciation

Normal pronunciation

What does it mean exactly?

Definition

“Je vous en prie” is used very often in daily life and is one of the most popular ways to express “You are welcome” in French. The most classic way is “De rien“, so if you have to keep in mind just one use “De rien” instead which will work in every situation.

The only difference with “De rien” is that “Je vous en prie” expresses a stronger gratitude and is more formal.

But keep in mind that to sound like a true French you will need to master these variations and use them appropriately depending on context, whom you are talking to and how much you want to be polite.

Let’s see a few examples!

How to use it

A very basic example: you do something for someone and the person says: “Merci” (Thank you). Then you answer: “De rien” (You are welcome) or “Avec plaisir” (My pleasure).

But now let’s take the same situation and change it a little. The person who says “Merci” is your boss and you want to show some extra respect, so you can use instead: “Je vous en prie” (Literally: “I beg of you“).

Another case: the person is now your sibling/family or a close friend. No need to be formal anymore, right? So you can use instead: “Pas de quoi” (That’s nothing) or “T’inquiète” (Don’t worry) or “Pas de souci” (No worry).

Finally, imagine you think you don’t deserve the “Thank you” or you think the other person is actually the one to thank. In this case you can use an expression to redirect the “Merci” toward the other person.

Examples: “C’est moi qui te remercie” → “No, I am the one who thank you” (Informal) or “C’est moi qui vous remercie” (Formal). Other options would be: “Tout le plaisir est pour moi” → “All the pleasure is for me” (Neutral) or “Merci à toi/vous” → “Thanks to you“. (Informal/Formal)

Check the variations below to find the most appropriate ones regarding your situation!

Synonyms

In France, the variations you can use are:

  • De rien → You are welcome (Most used version)
  • Je t’en prie → You are welcome (“I beg of you“)
  • Pas de souci(s) → No worry(ies) (Informal)
  • Pas de problème → No problem (Informal)
  • T’inquiète → Don’t worry (Informal)
  • T’inquiète pas → Don’t worry (Informal)
  • Ne t’inquiète pas → Don’t worry (Informal)
  • C’est moi qui te remercie → No thank you (“No, I am the one who thank you“)
  • C’est moi qui vous remercie → No thank you (“No, I am the one who thank you“)(Formal)
  • Merci à toi → Thanks to you
  • Merci à vous → Thanks to you (Formal)
  • Avec plaisir → My pleasure (“With pleasure“)
  • Tout le plaisir est pour moi → My pleasure (“All the pleasure is for me“)
  • Tout le plaisir était pour moi → My pleasure (“All the pleasure was for me“)
  • Pas de quoi → That’s nothing (“No need“)(Informal)
  • Y’a pas de quoi → That’s nothing (“There is no need“)(Informal)
  • Il n’y a pas de quoi → That’s nothing (“There is no need“)

In other French-speaking countries, you can also use:

  • Service → At your service (“Service“)(Switzerland)
  • Ça me fait plaisir → My pleasure (“It gives me pleasure“)(Canada)
  • Bienvenue → You’re welcome (“Welcome“)(Canada)
  • S’il vous plaît → You’re welcome (“Please“)(Belgium)

Example in a story with slow audio

Now, let’s see a complete example of this phrase in a story with slow French audio and the English translation below.
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La femme à vélo
The woman on the bike
___
Nicolas rentrait chez lui après le travail.
Nicolas was coming back home after work.
Il alla à l’épicerie pour acheter à manger.
He went to the grocery store to buy food.
Après ça, il se dirigea vers chez lui.
After that, he headed home.
En arrivant dans sa rue, il vit une femme à vélo.
When arriving in his street, he saw a woman on a bike.
Mais à ce moment-là, elle tomba violemment…
But at this moment, she fell violently…
Tous les fruits qu’elle transportait dans son panier se répandirent sur la route…
All the fruit she was carrying in her basket spread over the road…
Naturellement, Nicolas courut vers elle et lui demanda si elle avait besoin d’aide…
Naturally, Nicolas ran to her and asked if she needed help…
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