Published August 11, 2025 · Updated March 26, 2026 — Lesson written by French teacher David Issokson for students who want to learn French online. Pronunciation audio recorded by Marie Assel Cambier, a professional voice artist and native French speaker. Lyrics provided for educational purposes to support French language learning. All rights belong to the original copyright holders.
“Non, je ne regrette rien” (1960) is one of the most iconic French songs ever performed by Édith Piaf. The title means “No, I regret nothing,” and the lyrics express strength, acceptance, and a complete refusal to dwell on the past.
In this lesson, you’ll explore the lyrics line by line with clear explanations and native pronunciation audio to help you understand and practice real French.
🎙️ Listen to the song
📘 Meaning in French
🎧 Pronunciation guide
🔊 Practice with audio
🎵 Lyrics with English
✏️ Grammar notes
🎙️ Listen to “Non, je ne regrette rien” by Édith Piaf
Listen to the song — how many words can you catch before checking the translation?
📘 Non, je ne regrette rien meaning
Non, je ne regrette rien literally means “No, I regret nothing.” In French, this expression conveys a strong sense of closure and acceptance — letting go of the past without guilt or remorse. It reflects a mindset of resilience and moving forward with confidence, no matter what has happened before. The verb regretter means “to regret” or “to feel sorry about”.
🎧 Non, Je ne regrette rien pronunciation in French
The pronunciation of non, je ne regrette rien is /nɔ̃ ʒə nə ʁə.ɡʁɛt ʁjɛ̃/ (IPA), which sounds roughly like “noh zhuh nuh ruh-gret ryehn” (with nasal vowels in non and rien, and a soft “zh” sound in je).
🔊 Practice pronunciation from the song
The recordings below feature key lines from the song recorded by a native French speaker for clear, natural pronunciation. Listen and repeat each line to improve your accent and rhythm.
Non, rien de rien,
No, nothing at all,
Non, je ne regrette rien
No, I regret nothing
Ni le bien qu’on m’a fait, ni le mal,
Neither the good people have done to me, nor the bad,
tout ça m’est bien égal
it’s all the same to me
C’est payé, balayé, oublié,
It’s paid for, swept away, forgotten,
je me fous du passé
I don’t care about the past
Car ma vie, car mes joies,
Because my life, because my joys,
aujourd’hui, ça commence avec toi
today, it begins with you
👉 Enjoying this song? Explore “La vie en rose“ by Édith Piaf — one of the most famous and beautiful French songs, perfect for learning with lyrics and native audio.
🎵 Non, Je ne regrette rien – Lyrics with English Translation
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Ni le bien qu’on m’a fait
Ni le mal; tout ça m’est bien égal!
No, nothing at all
No, I regret nothing
Neither the good people have done to me
Nor the bad, it’s all the same to me.
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
C’est payé, balayé, oublié
Je me fous du passé!
No, nothing at all
No! I regret nothing
It’s paid for, swept away, forgotten
I don’t care about the past!
Avec mes souvenirs
J’ai allumé le feu
Mes chagrins, mes plaisirs
Je n’ai plus besoin d’eux!
With my memories
I lit the fire
My troubles, my pleasures
I don’t need them anymore!
Balayés les amours
Et tous leurs trémolos
Balayés pour toujours
Je repars à zéro
The lovers are all swept away
And all of their drama
Swept away forever
I am starting from scratch
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Ni le bien qu’on m’a fait
Ni le mal; tout ça m’est bien égal!
No, nothing at all
No, I regret nothing
Neither the good people did to me
Nor the bad, it’s all the same to me.
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Car ma vie, car mes joies
Aujourd’hui, ça commence avec toi!
No, nothing at all
No, I regret nothing
Because my life, because my joys
Today it starts with you!
More Édith Piaf songs to explore
Édith Piaf’s songs use emotional, poetic French with clear pronunciation and classic expressions. These songs are excellent next steps for learning through music:
👉 La Vie en rose — Simple, romantic vocabulary with clear, memorable phrases.
👉 Hymne à l’amour — Deeply emotional French with poetic structures and expressive language.
👉 Milord — Narrative-style lyrics with everyday expressions and storytelling.
✏️ Grammar and Vocabulary Notes
The following section highlights selected lyrics that reveal useful French vocabulary, expressions, and grammar structures from Non, je ne regrette rien, with clear explanations to help you understand how they’re used.
🎵 Song Title
Je ne regrette rien → literal translation: I regret nothing.
- Regretter means to regret.
- Rien means both nothing and anything depending on context.
- The negation ne…rien means “not anything” / “nothing”
- The title is often translated as “No regrets,” which reflects the meaning rather than the grammar.
🧩 Sentence Structures & Grammar
Je ne regrette rien
👉 “I regret nothing”
- Uses the negation ne…rien to express total absence of regret.
Non, rien de rien
👉 “No, nothing at all”
- Repetition of rien intensifies the negation
- Poetic emphasis rather than standard prose
Ni le bien qu’on m’a fait
👉 “Neither the good people have done to me”
- ni…ni means “neither…nor”
- le bien is “the good” (noun form)
- on refers to people in general
- fait is the past participle of faire
Ni le mal; tout ça m’est bien égal!
👉 “Nor the bad; it’s all the same to me”
- le mal means “the bad” or “evil”
- ça m’est égal means “I don’t mind” or “it makes no difference to me”
Je me fous du passé!
👉 “I don’t care about the past!”
- se foutre de is informal and strong
- Expresses emotional rejection of the past
Avec mes souvenirs
👉 “With my memories”
- Introductory phrase setting up the metaphor
- Souvenir (m.) = memory
J’ai allumé le feu
👉 “I lit the fire”
- allumer means to light or switch on
- This line is in the passé composé
Mes chagrins, mes plaisirs
👉 “My sorrows, my pleasures”
- Parallel structure listing emotions
Je n’ai plus besoin d’eux!
👉 “I don’t need them anymore!”
- avoir besoin de means to need
- ne…plus expresses “no longer”
- eux is a stressed pronoun referring back to emotions
Balayés les amours
👉 “The loves are swept away”
- Poetic inversion
- balayer means to sweep
Et tous leurs trémolos
👉 “And all their drama”
- trémolos refers metaphorically to emotional excess
Balayés pour toujours
👉 “Swept away forever”
- toujours here means forever
Je repars à zéro
👉 “I’m starting from scratch”
- repartir à zéro is an idiomatic expression
Car ma vie, car mes joies
👉 “Because my life, because my joys”
- car means because or for
Aujourd’hui, ça commence avec toi!
👉 “Today, it starts with you!”
- ça refers back to life and joy
- Marks renewal and rebirth
- Aujourd’hui = today
🔤 Verb Forms & Tenses
- Present tense: regrette, commence
- Passé composé: ai allumé
- Past participles used poetically: balayés
- Key infinitives: regretter, faire, se foutre, allumer, balayer, repartir, commencer
💬 Idioms & Natural Expressions
- ne regretter rien → to have no regrets
- ça m’est égal → it doesn’t matter to me
- je m’en fous → I don’t care (informal)
- repartir à zéro → to start from scratch
🧠 Grammar Highlights to Notice
- Double negation with ne…rien
- ni…ni structure for “neither…nor”
- Use of stressed pronouns (eux)
- Poetic word order common in lyrics
- Emotional emphasis through repetition
📘 Vocabulary
- le regret — regret
- le bien — good
- le mal — bad, evil
- le passé — past
- le souvenir — memory
- le chagrin — sorrow
- le plaisir — pleasure
- balayer — to sweep
- toujours — always, forever
- la vie — life
- la joie — joy
❓ Want to feel more confident in French?
🎯 À Moi Paris — This is my top recommendation for online French courses, and it pairs wonderfully with my website’s lessons. Camille Chevalier teaches with engaging audio stories that she records at three speeds. Her specialty is helping students with pronunciation and bridging the gap between textbook French and real spoken French as you hear it on the streets of Paris.
👉 Explore À Moi Paris »
👉 Read my review »
🎧 French Verb Drills — Having trouble with French verb conjugations? Camille’s audio drills break everything down step by step so you can finally lock in the patterns and speak with confidence.
If you purchase the courses, I may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you.
🎶 Take your learning to the next level!
FrenchLearner offers one of the largest collections of French song lessons online. Visit the French song lyrics hub to explore classics from the 1950s to the 2000s.
🎵 More Édith Piaf songs
👉 La vie en rose »
👉 Non, je ne regrette rien »
👉 Hymne à l’amour »
👉 Milord »
👉 Padam, padam… »
👉 Sous le ciel de Paris »
👉 Mon Dieu »
🎙️ Modern French songs
👉 Love Story (Indila) »
👉 Dernière danse (Indila) »
👉 Ainsi bas la vida (Indila) »
👉 Papaoutai (Stromae) »
👉 Tous les mêmes (Stromae) »
👉 Formidable (Stromae) »
👉 La fête (Amir) »
🚀 Continue learning on FrenchLearner!
👉 French Word of the Day »
👉 French vocabulary lists »
👉 French for beginners guide »
👉 French word meanings »
👉 French listening practice »
👉 French conjugations hub »
Non, je ne regrette rien — Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What does “Non, je ne regrette rien” mean in English?
The title literally translates to “No, I regret nothing”. It is often more concisely translated as “No regrets,” representing a clean break from the past and a commitment to moving forward without remorse.
When did Édith Piaf record “Non, je ne regrette rien”?
Édith Piaf recorded this iconic song in 1960, although it was originally written in 1956. It is widely considered her final masterpiece and her second most famous recording after “La Vie en Rose”.
What is the meaning of “Je me fous du passé” in the song?
In French, “Je me fous du passé” translates to “I do not care about the past”. The verb “foutre” is informal and relatively strong language, used by Piaf to emphasize her absolute indifference toward her previous heartbreaks and chagrins.
How can I use this song to improve my French pronunciation?
The song is excellent for practice because it features clear, elongated vowels and the distinct French “R” sound. Following along with a line-by-line breakdown allows you to master specific negations like “ne…rien” and “ni…ni,” as well as common reflexive verbs like “se souvenir”.
About this lesson: I create these song-based lessons to help French learners improve vocabulary, grammar, and cultural understanding in a fun, engaging way. Song lyrics are provided for educational purposes under fair use. All rights to the original works belong to their respective copyright holders.
