Today we’ll learn how to use and pronounce the super useful and versatile French expression ça y est. There isn’t one specific translation for ça y est in English but the underlying meaning is “Done!” or “There!”.
ça y est – IPA pronunciation [sa.jɛ]
Ça y est: Understanding and Using This Common French Expression
Ça y est meaning
There’s a long list of meanings for ça y est including “that’s it!”, “done!”, “there!”, “made it!”, “here we go!”.
The literal translation of ça y est is “that there is”. Y is an indirect object pronoun with many meanings including “there”. Learn more about the pronoun ‘y’.
Ça y est pronunciation
The pronunciation of ça y est is “sah-ee-ay” or [sa jɛ]. It’s almost as if you’re taking the three words and compressing them together into one flowing sound or word.
Listen to David pronouncing ça y est
Ça y est example sentences
Tu as mis la table ? Oui, ça y est !
Did you set the table? Yes, it’s done!
The most common usage of the expression is to indicate that an action has been completed or is done. These first two example sentences are in the passé composé.
Ça y est, j’ai trouvé le livre !
There! I found the book!
You can use ça y est to indicate that a lost item has been relocated.
There! The car started.
You can also use the expression when a paused or stopped action has started again.
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