Vraiment – Really

In today’s lesson we’ll have a look at the adverb vraiment, which translates to “really”, “truly” and “honestly”. We’ll also have a look at “Ah bon ?”, which corresponds with “Really?” in English.

vraiment

really

Word origin

The French adverb vraiment is comprised of the adjective vrai and the suffix -ment. Vrai comes from verus in latin. The French suffix -ment corresponds with -ly for English adverbs and comes from -mente in Latin.

Example sentences

For these first two example sentences, vraiment is being used as an adverb to mean “really” or truly”.

Elle est vraiment belle.

She is really beautiful.

Martin chante vraiment bien.

Martin sings really well.

For this sentence, vraiment can also translate to “honestly” or “truly”.

La nouvelle voiture m’a vraiment surprise.

The new car really surprised me.

To say “not really”, vraiment is preceded by pas to form pas vraiment.

Aimez-vous ce fromage ? – Pas vraiment.

Do you like this cheese? Not really.

To express “really?”, as in “Is it true?”, the French use the expression “Ah bon?”.

Ah bon ? Je ne savais pas qu’il parlait français.

Really? I didn’t knwo he spoke French.

Word of the Day lessons

Lessons by David Issokson

Related lessons

• Now – maintenant
• Toujours – always
• Jamais – never
• Souvent – often
• Trop – too, too much

Reference

• Wiktionary
• WordReference (vraiment)
• WordReference (Ah bon?)

David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language learner and speaks over seven languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private lessons. When not teaching or writing his French Word of the Day lessons, David enjoys his time skiing, hiking and mountain biking in Victor, Idaho.

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