See also:
👉 Parce que — because »
👉 Connector words (hub) »
Level B1 (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 the commonly used conjunction donc (B1), which means ‘so’, ‘therefore’ and ‘thus’. French speakers often use donc as a filler word when pausing and gathering thoughts. The English equivalent is ‘so…’.
donc – IPA pronunciation /dɔ̃k/
Word origin
The Modern French word donc comes from dunc in Vulgar Latin.
Donc example sentences
For these first to examples, the meaning of donc is ‘so’. For these sentences, we could have also used alors, meaning ‘so’.
Il est déjà onze heures. Donc, il est temps de travailler.
It’s already 11 o’clock. So, it’s time to work.
J’ai raté le dernier métro, donc je dois rentrer chez moi à pied.
I missed the last metro. So, I have to walk home.
This next example is a dialogue with two people speaking.
Je n’ai pas envie de travailler aujourd’hui. – Donc, tu veux aller en ville?
I don’t feel like working today. – So, do you want to go downtown?
This sentence is slightly more formal with donc meaning ‘therefore’.
Je ne connais pas bien cette ville, je préfère donc prendre un taxi.
I don’t know this city very well. Therefore, I prefer to take a taxi.
👉 See also: Connaître conjugation (to know)
The expression “Dis donc !” means “Say!” or “Hey!”.
Dis donc ! Tu parles vachement bien français !
Say! You speak French really well!
Expressions with donc
- Je pense, donc je suis. I think, therefore I am.
- Viens donc ! Do come!
- Allons donc ! Nonsense! Don’t be silly!
- C’est donc ça ! So that’s it! So that’s why!
Continue learning French!
Now that you’ve mastered how to use donc, check out our lesson covering the related word alors (so)! This lesson can also help you to master French conjunctions!
References
