Ce n’est pas grave – How to Use It

Ce n’est pas grave is an extremely common French expression that one typically both hears and uses on an almost daily basis. It’s easy to learn and even easier to use in conversation. Let’s took a look at what ce n’est pas grave means as well as some examples of it used in action.

Literally translated as “it is not serious” the real translation of ce n’est pas grave typically is one of the following. My recommendation is to simply pick which one best fits the context of the situation.

The above bullet points are not by any means an exhaustive list of translations for ce n’est pas grave, but they should give you a pretty good idea of the overall meaning of the phrase which is to downplay the gravity of a situation.
 

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with just saying ce n’est pas grave, but you’ll very often see and hear French speakers simplify it to just c’est pas grave or even just pas grave.

If you’re texting with someone or speaking to them online you may even see CPG which is the first letter of each word in the expression c’est pas grave. It may go without saying, but CPG (as well as most other text speak) is very very informal.
 

Let’s take a look at a few examples of ce n’est pas grave used in context.

There you have it. You should be able to properly use c’est pas grave in conversation no matter what situation you find yourself in. To learn more French vocabulary head on over to the French vocabulary page.