Published March 23, 2026 — 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.
📘 Pas mal meaning in French
“Pas mal” means “not bad” in French. It can also mean “pretty good” or “quite good,” depending on tone. When followed by “de” + noun, it means “quite a lot” or “quite a few.”
This is one of those short expressions you’ll hear all the time but rarely see in textbooks.
Level A2 (Upper Beginner)
🎧 Pas mal pronunciation in French
The pronunciation of pas mal is /pa mal/ (IPA), which sounds roughly like “pah mahl.”
📝 Pas mal usage examples
Ton français n’est pas mal ! Bravo !
Your French is not bad! Well done!
Tu as aimé le film ? Oui ! Ce n’était pas mal !
Did you like the movie? Yes! It was pretty good!
J’ai pas mal de travail aujourd’hui.
I have quite a lot of work today.
Il y avait pas mal de monde dans la rue.
There were quite a few people in the street.
👉 See also: beaucoup de + noun (how to say “a lot of” in French) »
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🔗 Related words and expressions
- assez bien — fairly good
- plutôt bien — pretty good
- pas terrible — not great
- très bien — very good
- bof — meh
- comme ci, comme ça — so-so
- ça va — it’s okay / not bad
- pas mal du tout — really quite good
- pas mal de + noun — quite a lot of / quite a few
📚 Related lessons on FrenchLearner!
👉 Très bien (very well) »
👉 Bof (meh) »
👉 Ça va (it’s okay, not bad) »
