Oui, non, peut-être / Yes, No, Maybe

Knowing how to say yes, no, and maybe is essential for any conversation. French has several ways to express agreement, disagreement, and uncertainty—from simple oui and non to more emphatic or nuanced responses.

French	IPA	English	Usage
Oui	[wi]	Yes	Standard affirmative
Non	[nɔ̃]	No	Standard negative
Peut-être	[pø.tɛtʁ]	Maybe / Perhaps	Uncertainty
Si	[si]	Yes (contradicting a negative)	Special affirmative

Saying “Yes”

Oui — Yes

Oui [wi] is the standard way to say yes:

• Tu viens? — Oui. (Are you coming? — Yes.)
• Vous parlez français? — Oui, un peu. (Do you speak French? — Yes, a little.)

Variations of “Yes”

French	IPA	English	Tone/Usage
Oui	[wi]	Yes	Standard
Ouais	[wɛ]	Yeah	Very informal
Mouais	[mwɛ]	Yeah… (hesitant)	Reluctant agreement
Oui oui	[wi wi]	Yes yes	Emphatic / impatient
Bien sûr	[bjɛ̃ syʁ]	Of course	Certain, confident
Absolument	[ab.sɔ.ly.mɑ̃]	Absolutely	Strong agreement
Exactement	[ɛɡ.zak.tə.mɑ̃]	Exactly	Confirming something
Tout à fait	[tu.ta.fɛ]	Absolutely / Quite so	Strong agreement
D’accord	[da.kɔʁ]	Okay / Agreed	Agreement to a plan
Volontiers	[vɔ.lɔ̃.tje]	Gladly / With pleasure	Accepting an offer

Si — Yes (to Contradict a Negative)

Si [si] is a special “yes” used to contradict a negative statement or question:

• Tu ne viens pas? — Si! (You’re not coming? — Yes, I am!)
• Il n’est pas là? — Si, il est là. (He’s not here? — Yes, he is here.)
• Tu n’aimes pas le chocolat? — Si, j’adore ça! (You don’t like chocolate? — Yes, I love it!)

Important: Using oui instead of si after a negative question would mean you agree with the negative (“No, I’m not coming”). Si corrects or contradicts the negative assumption.

Saying “No”

Non — No

Non [nɔ̃] is the standard negative:

• Tu as faim? — Non. (Are you hungry? — No.)
• C’est loin? — Non, c’est tout près. (Is it far? — No, it’s very close.)

Variations of “No”

French	IPA	English	Tone/Usage
Non	[nɔ̃]	No	Standard
Non non	[nɔ̃ nɔ̃]	No no	Emphatic
Nan	[nɑ̃]	Nah	Very informal
Pas du tout	[pa dy tu]	Not at all	Strong denial
Absolument pas	[ab.sɔ.ly.mɑ̃ pa]	Absolutely not	Very strong no
Jamais	[ʒa.mɛ]	Never	Emphatic refusal
Bien sûr que non	[bjɛ̃ syʁ kə nɔ̃]	Of course not	Emphatic
Non merci	[nɔ̃ mɛʁ.si]	No thank you	Polite refusal

Saying “Maybe”

French	IPA	English	Degree of Certainty
Peut-être	[pø.tɛtʁ]	Maybe / Perhaps	Uncertain
Peut-être que oui	[pø.tɛtʁ kə wi]	Maybe yes	Leaning positive
Peut-être que non	[pø.tɛtʁ kə nɔ̃]	Maybe not	Leaning negative
Probablement	[pʁɔ.ba.blə.mɑ̃]	Probably	Likely
Sans doute	[sɑ̃ dut]	Probably / No doubt	Likely (≈70%)
Je ne sais pas	[ʒə nə sɛ pa]	I don’t know	Uncertain
Ça dépend	[sa de.pɑ̃]	It depends	Conditional
On verra	[ɔ̃ ve.ʁa]	We’ll see	Non-committal
C’est possible	[sɛ pɔ.sibl]	It’s possible	Open possibility

Expressing Agreement and Disagreement

Agreement

French	IPA	English
Je suis d’accord	[ʒə sɥi da.kɔʁ]	I agree
C’est vrai	[sɛ vʁɛ]	That’s true
Effectivement	[e.fɛk.tiv.mɑ̃]	Indeed
Tu as raison	[ty a ʁɛ.zɔ̃]	You’re right (informal)
Vous avez raison	[vu.za.ve ʁɛ.zɔ̃]	You’re right (formal)

Disagreement

French	IPA	English
Je ne suis pas d’accord	[ʒə nə sɥi pa da.kɔʁ]	I disagree
Ce n’est pas vrai	[sə nɛ pa vʁɛ]	That’s not true
Tu as tort	[ty a tɔʁ]	You’re wrong (informal)
Pas exactement	[pa.zɛɡ.zak.tə.mɑ̃]	Not exactly
Je ne pense pas	[ʒə nə pɑ̃s pa]	I don’t think so

Common Mistakes

❌ Wrong	✓ Correct	Why
Tu ne viens pas? — Oui.	Tu ne viens pas? — Si!	Use si to contradict negative
Ouais to your boss	Oui	Ouais is too casual
Nan in formal settings	Non	Nan is slang
Just non to an offer	Non merci	Add merci for politeness
Peut-être as “must be”	Peut-être = maybe only	Don’t confuse with certainty

Practice Sentences

1. Tu veux un café? — Oui, volontiers!
   [ty vø œ̃ ka.fe wi vɔ.lɔ̃.tje]
   Do you want a coffee? — Yes, gladly!
2. Tu n’aimes pas le fromage? — Si, j’adore!
   [ty nɛm pa lə fʁɔ.maʒ si ʒa.dɔʁ]
   You don’t like cheese? — Yes, I love it!
3. On va au cinéma ce soir? — Peut-être, ça dépend.
   [ɔ̃ va o si.ne.ma sə swaʁ pø.tɛtʁ sa de.pɑ̃]
   Are we going to the movies tonight? — Maybe, it depends.
4. C’est bon? — Absolument, c’est délicieux!
   [sɛ bɔ̃ ab.sɔ.ly.mɑ̃ sɛ de.li.sjø]
   Is it good? — Absolutely, it’s delicious!
5. Tu es fatigué? — Non, pas du tout.
   [ty ɛ fa.ti.ɡe nɔ̃ pa dy tu]
   Are you tired? — No, not at all.
6. Tu vas venir demain? — Probablement oui.
   [ty va və.niʁ də.mɛ̃ pʁɔ.ba.blə.mɑ̃ wi]
   Are you coming tomorrow? — Probably yes.
7. Encore du vin? — Non merci, ça va.
   [ɑ̃.kɔʁ dy vɛ̃ nɔ̃ mɛʁ.si sa va]
   More wine? — No thank you, I’m fine.
8. Tu es d’accord avec moi? — Oui, tout à fait.
   [ty ɛ da.kɔʁ a.vɛk mwa wi tu.ta.fɛ]
   Do you agree with me? — Yes, absolutely.
9. Il ne vient pas? — Si si, il arrive bientôt.
   [il nə vjɛ̃ pa si si il a.ʁiv bjɛ̃.to]
   He’s not coming? — Yes yes, he’s arriving soon.
10. C’est difficile? — Non, c’est facile!
    [sɛ di.fi.sil nɔ̃ sɛ fa.sil]
    Is it difficult? — No, it’s easy!

Exercise: Choose the Right Response

Select oui, non, or si for each question:

1. Tu parles anglais? (You do speak English) → _______
2. Tu ne parles pas anglais? (You do speak English) → _______
3. Tu veux du dessert? (You don’t want any) → _______
4. Ce n’est pas bon? (It is good) → _______
5. Tu es français? (You are French) → _______
6. Il n’y a pas de problème? (There is no problem) → _______
7. Tu n’as pas faim? (You are hungry) → _______

Answers

1. Oui [wi] — standard yes to positive question
2. Si [si] — contradicting the negative assumption
3. Non (merci) [nɔ̃ mɛʁ.si] — standard no
4. Si [si] — contradicting “it’s not good”
5. Oui [wi] — standard yes to positive question
6. Non [nɔ̃] — agreeing there’s no problem
7. Si [si] — contradicting “you’re not hungry”

Quick Reference

Expression	IPA	Meaning	Usage
Oui	[wi]	Yes	Standard affirmative
Si	[si]	Yes (contradicting)	After negative question
Non	[nɔ̃]	No	Standard negative
Peut-être	[pø.tɛtʁ]	Maybe	Uncertainty
Bien sûr	[bjɛ̃ syʁ]	Of course	Strong yes
Pas du tout	[pa dy tu]	Not at all	Strong no
D’accord	[da.kɔʁ]	Okay / Agreed	Agreement