Today we’ll look at the highly 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 !
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 Larousse dictionary gives this definition: “indique qu’une action est faite, finie.” (indicates that an action is done, finished).
The literal translation of ça y est is “that there is”. Y is an indirect object pronoun with many meanings including “there”.
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:
Example sentences
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.
Tu as mis la table ? Oui, ça y est !
Did you set the table? Yes, it’s done!
You can use ça y est to indicate that a lost item has been relocated.
Ça y est, j’ai trouvé le livre !
There! I found the book!
You can also use the expression when a paused or stopped action has started again.
Ça y est, la voiture démarre.
There! The car started.
French expressions | Lessons by David Issokson
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