The French expression for no problem is “pas de problème”. The common mistake is to say “non problème”, but this is wrong. The more formal way of saying “no problem” is: “Il n’y a pas de problème”. This translates literally to “there is no problem”. Keep reading to learn the seven most common ways to say “no problem” in French.
pas de problème
no problem
How to say “no problem in French”
In real spoken French, the de is glided over:
pas (de) problème
What does “pas de” mean?
In the expression, “pas de problème“, what “problème” means is very obvious! But, what does “pas de” mean? The word “pas“ translates to both “no” and “not”. When followed by a noun, the word “de” must be inserted to mean “not any”. Hence, the literal translation of “pas de problème” is “not any problem.
Other ways of saying no problem in French
There are many other ways to say no problem in French besides “pas de problème”. Let’s explore them now!
Firstly, we need to examine the verb “poser” as it’s associated with “pas de problème”. The verb “poser“ in this context means to “pose” or “cause” a problem. Hence, the expression, “Ça ne pose pas de problème” means “that doesn’t pose (or cause) any problem”.
1 – Pas de souci
The expression pas de souci translates to “no problem”, “no worries” and “no sweat”. The world souci translates to “worry”.
2 – Ce n’est pas grave
The French expression ce n’est pas grave translates literally to “it’s not grave/serious” and really means “it’s no big deal”. Other translations include “never mind” and “it doesn’t matter”. The French use the expression ce n’est pas grave very frequently and it can be used synonymously with pas de problème.
3 – Ça ne fait rien
Another useful expression is ça ne fait rien. This expression translates literally to “that makes nothing” and means “it’s nothing”, “that’s alright”, “that’s ok” and “don’t mention it”. The word “fait” comes from the verb faire, which means to make or do. The word rien means “nothing” or “anything”.
4 – Aucun problème
The word aucun translates to “no” or “not any” and can proceed any noun. Hence aucun problème means “no problem” and “Je n’ai aucun problème” means “I have no problem”.
5 – Ne dérange pas
The verb déranger means to bother or disturb. When making sentences ne dérange pas means not to disturb, or “have no problem”. Thus, the example sentence, “Ça ne me dérange pas si tu veux sortir ce soir” translates to “I have no problem if you want to go out tonight”.
6 – Il n’y a pas de quoi
The French expression, Il n’y pas de quoi is almost impossible to translate literally. The closest literal translation would be “There is no what”. However, this expression can be used to express both “you’re welcome” and “no problem”.
7 – Il n’y a pas de lézard
Il n’y a pas de lézard is a slang French expression that translates literally to “there is no lizard” and means “no problem”. This expression has its roots in music where the term “un lézard” (lizard) referred to a disturbance in the quality of the sound. The expression can be shorted to “Y’a pas de lézard”.
Discover more:
- S’il vous plaît – please
- De rien – you’re welcome
- 20 ways to say hello in French
- 15 ways to say goodbye in French
French phrases | Lessons by David Issokson
