B2 (Upper 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 n’empêche que, meaning “still” or “nevertheless.” I specifically chose this expression as it’s confused many of my advanced students over the years. The simplest tip for this expression is to think of it as “it doesn’t prevent the fact that…” then keep going with the rest of the sentence. Listen to Marie’s audio examples and everything will click!
✅ Meaning
✅ Pronunciation
✅ Example sentences
✅ Related Words & Expressions
✅ Related lessons
Subscribe to the French Word of the Day
📘 N’empêche que meaning
N’empêche que is a common French expression meaning “still,” “nevertheless” or “even so.” French speakers use it to introduce a contrasting point or gentle disagreement. Empêcher means “to prevent,” so n’empêche que carries the idea of “it doesn’t prevent (the fact) that…” — “still / nonetheless.” For example: Il est tard ; n’empêche que je viens (It’s late. Still, I’m coming).
💬 Variations of n’empêche que
The expression can appear in three forms — all mean the same thing, but differ slightly in tone and formality:
| Form | Register | Example | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Il n’empêche que | formal / written | Il pleut depuis ce matin. — Il n’empêche qu’il faut sortir ! | It’s been raining all morning — nevertheless, we have to go out! |
| N’empêche qu’ | neutral / standard | Il pleut depuis ce matin. — N’empêche qu’il faut sortir ! | It’s been raining all morning — still, we have to go out! |
| N’empêche ! | informal / spoken | Il pleut depuis ce matin. — N’empêche ! Il faut sortir ! | It’s been raining all morning — still! We’ve got to go out! |
🎧 N’empêche que pronunciation
The pronunciation of n’empêche que is /n‿ɑ̃pɛʃ kə/, which sounds like nah(n)-pesh kuh.
📝 N’empêche que examples & usages
Il pleut depuis ce matin. — N’empêche qu’il faut sortir !
It’s been raining since this morning. Still, we have to go out!
Il est parfois paresseux ; n’empêche qu’il est très compétent.
He’s sometimes lazy; nevertheless, he’s very competent.
Ce film est long ; n’empêche qu’il est magnifique.
This movie is long; even so, it’s magnificent.
Elle se plaint souvent ; n’empêche qu’elle fait bien son travail.
She complains often; still, she does her job well.
N’empêche que vs mais quand même
You can often replace n’empêche que with mais quand même. The meaning is very similar, though mais quand même can be slightly more stronger.
➜ Il est tard, mais quand même je viens. It’s late, but I’m coming anyway. ✅
➜ Il est tard. N’empêche que je viens. It’s late. Still, I’m coming. ✅
👉 See also: Quand même — meaning, pronunciation, and examples »
❓ 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 daily 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.
🔗 Related words and expressions
- quand même — still, anyway, even so
- pourtant — however, yet, nevertheless
- cependant — however, nonetheless
- toutefois — however, nevertheless
- malgré — despite, in spite of
- alors que — whereas / while (contrast)
- même si — even if, even though
📚 Related lessons on FrenchLearner!
👉 French connector words hub »
🚀 Continue learning French online on FrenchLearner!
👉 French Word of the Day »
👉 French Vocabulary lists »
👉 French for beginners guide »
👉 French song lyrics hub »
👉 French conjugations hub »
