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You are in the right place to find out all the things you need to know about the basic sentence “C’est pas trop tôt”.
Including a complete definition of what it is and how you can use it in everyday life with an audio example. But that’s not all, we also sprinkled super useful stuff like dialogue example, synonym, slow pronunciation audio and more!
Oh and if you want, on this page you will find our others sentences guides plus the ultimate list of all our French words content on this page. Wish you a good learning!
Slow pronunciation
Normal pronunciation
It literally means:
We use it to express our frustration after waiting someone for a long time. This is ironic because instead of simply saying “You are late.” (Tu es en retard.) it’s saying “It’s not too soon“.
This construction is making the criticism less aggressive but still clear.
You had been waiting for your “always-30min-late-friend” and he/she finally arrives. You just want to mention that he/she is late but without starting an argument or create a bad atmosphere.
In this case, just say: “C’est pas trop tôt.” with a smile and he/she will understand you, will probably apologize and you will move on to something else.
Don’t forget that depending on your tone and facial expression, it can be interpreted as a gentle teasing or as an aggression.
This is a soft way to criticize someone for being late, but if you are super mad: you can increase the “criticism level“. Just add some swear words such as “Bordel“, “Putain“, “Bordel de merde” or “Putain de merde” right after to make it harsher.
For example: “C’est pas trop tôt putain ! 3 heures que je t’attends !” (Fuckin’ hell, finally! I have been waiting you for 3 hours!)
Dialogue audio
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