Level B1 (Lower intermediate)
Lesson written by French teacher David Issokson for students who want to learn French online, with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier, a voice artist from France.
The French Word of the Day is à vrai dire, meaning “to tell the truth” or “actually.” This is one of those useful little expressions that you can slip into conversation to sound more natural and like a native speaker. You’ll love Marie’s audio examples today!
✅ Meaning
✅ Pronunciation
✅ Example sentences
✅ Related Words & Expressions
✅ Related lessons
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📘 À vrai dire meaning in French
À vrai dire is a French expression that means “to tell the truth,” “truthfully,” or “actually” in French. It is used to introduce a more honest, nuanced, or slightly corrective statement. French speakers often use à vrai dire to soften disagreement, clarify their real opinion, or add a candid remark For example, “À vrai dire, je ne suis pas sûr.” (To tell the truth, I’m not sure.)
🎧 À vrai dire pronunciation in French
The pronunciation of à vrai dire is /a vʁɛ diʁ/ (IPA), which sounds roughly like “ah vray deer.”
📝 À vrai dire usage examples
À vrai dire, je ne suis pas tout à fait d’accord avec toi.
To tell the truth, I don’t completely agree with you.
Je n’aime pas beaucoup le café ; à vrai dire, je préfère le thé.
I don’t like coffee very much; actually, I prefer tea.
À vrai dire, je n’ai pas encore fini de lire ce livre.
To be honest, I haven’t finished reading this book yet.
Il est très gentil mais, à vrai dire, il parle un peu trop.
He’s very nice but, to be honest, he talks a bit too much.
Keep learning with Marie’s audio!
Today’s examples sentences use the two extremely useful French expressions être d’accord avec (to agree with) and tout a fait (completely, totally). See also:
👉 être d’accord avec – to agree »
👉 tout à fait – completely »
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🔗 Related words and expressions
- franchement — frankly
- en fait — actually
- pour être honnête — to be honest
- à dire vrai — truth be told
- honnêtement — honestly
- en toute sincérité — in all sincerity
📚 Related lessons on FrenchLearner!
👉 en fait — actually »
👉 dire (to say, to tell) usage examples »
👉 dire conjugation chart (with audio) »
👉 vraiment — really »
👉 c’est-à-dire — that is to say »
🚀 Continue learning French online on FrenchLearner!
👉 French Word of the Day »
👉 French Vocabulary lists »
👉 French for beginners guide »
👉 French song lyrics hub »
❓ À vrai dire — Common Questions
What does à vrai dire mean in French?
It means “to tell the truth,” “to be honest,” or “actually,” and is used to introduce a candid or slightly corrective statement.
Is à vrai dire formal or informal?
It is neutral and works well in both spoken and written French.
Where does à vrai dire appear in a sentence?
It usually appears at the beginning of a sentence, but it can also appear mid-sentence to gently shift tone or clarify meaning.
