How do you say “okay” in French?
The true and direct translation for “okay” in French is “d’accord” (pronounced dakɔʀ), which really means “alright”. However, there are many ways of expressing “ok” in French and there are many translations. This post will discover the different ways to say “okay” in French and provide lots of useful example sentences.
Is it okay to say “okay” in French?
In short, the answer is yes. However, using the Anglicism, “okay“, is not considered to be good French. In French slang you could make a sentences like this:
- Bon, ben, OK, je vais y aller demain. Well, okay, I’ll go tomorrow.
Another example of simply saying “okay” is as follows:
- OK, ça va, arrête! Okay, stop!
Notice that in our example sentence we didn’t translate “ça va”? This is because “ça va” (literally ‘that goes’) can also translate to “okay”. For example:
- Ça va, j’ai compris. Okay, I understood.
In the negation, “ça ne va pas” translates to “that’s not okay”. For example:
- Hé ! Ça ne va pas ! Hey! That’s not okay!
In this context, “ça va” can translate to “that’s fine”. This page gives a complete explanation on the usage and meanings of ça va.
How to use “d’accord” to mean okay
The best way to say “okay” in French is to use the word “d’accord”. On its own, “d’accord” translates both to “OK” and “alright”. Here are some example sentences using “d’accord”.
- D’accord! J’ai compris la leçon! Okay, I understood the lesson!
- D’accord! On commence? Okay, shall we start?
“D’accord” can also be put on the end of a sentence to ask for approval. Here’s an example:
- Tu arrives demain de bonne heure, d’accord? You’ll come early tomorrow, okay?
Note that the expression “être d’accord avec” means “to agree”. Thus, “Je suis d’accord” means I agree while “d’accord” means “okay” as in the context of “alright”. This page discovers the “d’accord” in detail and with lots of examples.
How to say, “that’s OK”
To express “that’s okay”, use the expression “ce n’est pas grave” which translates to “it’s no big deal”. Here are two example sentences.
- Ce n’est pas grave si tu ne viens pas demain. That’s okay if you don’t come tomorrow.
- Écoute, ce n’est pas grave. Listen, that’s okay.
How to express the concept of “being okay”
To express the idea of “being okay” as in one’s physical or mental state, use the expression “aller bien”, which could also translate to “to be fine”. Here are some examples:
- Je vais bien. Je ne suis plus malade. I’m okay. I’m not sick anymore.
- Tu vas bien? Tu as l’air troublé. Are you okay? You look disturbed.
The expression “tout va bien” can translate to both “everything is fine” and “everything is okay”. For example:
- Tout va bien chez nous. Tout le monde est en forme. Everything is okay at our home. Everybody is healthy.
This page covers the mysterious French preposition “chez”, which means to be at somebody’s home or place.
To express being “ok” in the physical or emotional sense, the verb “se sentir” can also be used. For example:
- Est-ce que que tu te sens bien? Tu as l’air fatigué? Are you okay? You look tired.
This page covers the verb “sentir” (to feel and to smell) in detail.
How to describe a person as “being okay”
To describe a person as “being okay” use “assez sympa” (pretty nice) or “gentil/gentille” (nice). For example:
- Tu aimes son mari? Oui, il est assez sympa. You liker her husband? Yeah, he’s OK.
How to express “to be okay with”
To express the idea of “being okay with somebody” use the construction “aller à”. For example:
- Est-ce que ça te va si je conduis ta voiture? Is it okay with you if I drive your car?
How to express “ok” at the beginning of a sentence
To express “ok” at the beginning of the sentence, use the word “bon”, which also translates to “good”. For example:
- Bon, qu’est-ce qu’on fait maintenant? Okay, what are we going to do now?
Translation of “A-OK”
The last usage of “okay” worth mentioning is the English expression, “it’s A-ok” meaning “it’s wonderful” or “it’s fantastic”. The French equivalent is “c’est nickel”.
- C’est nickel ! Je vais acheter cette voiture! It’s a-ok! I’m going to buy this car!
Discover more:
- D’accord Meaning In French & Translation
- Bonjour meaning and pronunciation
- Ways to say “Yes” in French
- Ways To say “No” in French
- Ways to say “I love you” in French
View all French vocabulary lessons
