I’m from the Lorraine region in the east of France and I pronounce oui as ui. In Les Vosges, a department of Lorraine, some people even say vui! Try the different pronunciations for yourself:
oui→ /wee/
ui→ /uee/
vui→ /vwee/
French Articles
What is the difference between ‘oui’ and ‘si’ in French?
By: Agnés Finot Fri Aug 30 2024
FrenchSentence Structure
In French, both oui and si mean "yes," but the difference is that oui is used for an affirmativeNo definition set for affirmativeLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. question, whereas si is used to say “yes” in reply to a negative questionNo definition set for negative questionLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. or to disagree with a negative statement.
Affirmative question (A question without negation) | Negative question (A question with negation) |
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Do you know how French people say “yes” in informal conversation? Would you like to learn other ways to say “yes”? In addition to covering oui and si, in this post we’ll also discuss other ways to say “yes” in informal, normal, and formal speech. Let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
When to use ‘oui’ in French?
Use oui when you want to answer “yes” to an affirmative, closed question. Recall that affirmative questions are “regular” questions, without any negation in them. For example:
Tu as reçu la facture d'électricité ?
Have you received the electricity bill?
Oui.
Yes.
Answering a question with oui is usually enough in French, but just like you can sometimes answer a yes or no question in English with more than just “yes” (e.g. “yes, I did” or “yes, he can climb that wall”), in French you can also add a bit more to your answer.
Est-ce qu’ils ont pris le train hier soir ?
Did they take the train last night?
Oui, ils l’ont pris hier soir.
Yes, they did take it last night.
Here are some ways you can use oui that aren’t answering a question:
In France, it is also not uncommon to hear people start a sentence with oui, even when they haven’t been asked a question. It’s a way to show their agreement with what has been said so far, similarly to “indeed,” “yes,” or even “yeah” in English.
Il y a de plus en plus de débats en France concernant la tenue vestimentaire des jeunes à l’école.
There are more and more debates in France about the dress code of young people in school.
Oui, nous savons que, récemment, un établissement a interdit le port des claquettes-chaussettes en son sein.
Yes / indeed, we know that, recently, a school has banned the wearing of sandals with socks (lit. sandals-socks) in its premises.
In other instances, oui can be used as a French tag question when you want to show you are getting impatient!
Les enfants, vous venez, oui ? Ça fait 15 minutes que je vous attends !
Kids, are you coming or not? I’ve been waiting for you for 15 minutes!
And, if the kids aren’t keen, they might reply:
Peut-être que oui, peut-être que non.
Maybe, maybe not.
Cultural note:
Using oui is pretty straightforward. Let’s move on to the curious si.
When to use ‘si’ in French?
Use si to mean “yes” in response to negative questions or to disagree with negative statements in French.
Tip
Remember, the little word si has many meanings — the French conjunction si also means “if” in French and the French adverb si means "so (much)." In this post, though, we’ll focus on how to use the adverb si to disagree with a negative statement or question.
Here are some examples illustrating how you can use si to disagree with the assumptions of a negative question:
Quoi ?! Vous n’avez jamais regardé cette série ?
What?! You have never watched this series?
Si !
Yes, we have!
Tip
If you want to contradict the statement with some uncertainty, you can say peut-être que si. For example:
Ce n’est pas un bon cuisinier ?
Is he not a good cook?
Peut-être que si.
Maybe he is.
Si can also be used to express that you disagree with a negative statement:
Je ne sors jamais sans mon portable.
I never go out without my cell phone.
Moi, si !
I do!
On n’aime pas la cuisine italienne.
We don‘t like Italian food.
Nous, si !
We do!
Mes parents n’ont pas encore visité cette école.
My parents haven’t visited this school yet.
Les miens, si !
Mine have!
Tip
A stressed pronoun will never be followed by oui. If you want to approve of a negative statement, you can say moi non plus(me neither). Moi, si(I do), as you can see in the examples above, is used when you want to disapprove of the statement.
Si doesn’t have to be used on its own. You can say also say any of these:
Mais si !
Yes!
lit. (lit.) But yes!
Ben si !
Of course!
lit. (lit.) Well yes!
Bien sûr que si !
Of course!
In France, it is not unusual to hear a conversation like this:
A:
Ce n’est pas Marion Cotillard ? 🤔
Isn’t it Marion Cotillard?
B:
Non. 😑
No, it isn’t.
A:
Si, c’est elle ! 🧐
Yes, it is her!
B:
Non. 🙄
No, it’s not.
A:
Si. 😕
Yes, it is!
B:
Mais non ! 😠
No!
A:
Mais si! 😤
Yes!
And so on, until one person gives up! 😉
Now, what if you want to sound more like a native speaker and use colloquial French to say oui?
Carry on reading!
What are other ways to say “yes” in French?
There are also other ways to say “yes” in French; some are formal, others are informal. You’ll want to say “yes” when you are having a chat with friends differently from how you’d say “yes” when answering the minister of economy!
Although the expressions I’m giving you below are widely used, it is interesting to note that the Académie française — the official authority that regulates the French language — recommends to simply use oui instead of the heavier expressions like tout à fait(absolutely) or the more informal ones like carrément(you bet). However, many people, like myself, believe that the Académie française is a bit conservative. Indeed, why stick to oui when the French language is so rich and always evolving? What do you think?
What are other ways to say “yes” in formal and day-to-day speech?
Here are some more formal ways to say “yes” in French. You’ll also find many of these expressions used in day-to-day conversation, as well.
Ways to say "yes": normal and formal speech |
|---|
Oui, merci. Yes, please. |
oui oui yes yes |
évidemment of course |
certainement certainly |
tout à fait absolutely |
absolument absolutely |
bien sûr of course |
bien sûr que oui of course |
peut-être que oui yes maybe |
d’accord okay |
en effet indeed |
exactement exactly |
très bien very well |
avec plaisir with pleasure |
volontiers with pleasure |
Mais oui ! Yes! lit. (lit.) But yes! |
Tip
For a stronger effect, you can combine these expressions above with oui:
Oui, certainement.
Yes, certainly.
Oui, d’accord.
Yes, okay.
Oui, bien sûr.
Yes, of course.
What are other ways to say “yes” in informal speech?
Here are some different ways to say “yes” in French in informal speech:
Ways to say "yes": informal speech |
|---|
ouais yeah |
ouaip yep |
mouais yeah |
OK okay |
Eh oui ! Yes! |
Pas de soucis ! No problem! |
Carrément ! You bet! |
Bah oui ! / Ben oui ! Yes, obviously! |
Ça marche ! Okay! |
C’est ça ! That's right! |
C’est clair. For sure! |
Let’s put mouais and eh oui into context:
A:
Tu veux venir faire une balade à vélo avec moi ? Je dois m’arrêter à la boulangerie.
Do you want to come for a bike ride with me? I need to stop at the bakery.
B:
Mouais, Je crois que c’est fermé.
Yeah, I think it’s closed.
A:
Attends, je vérifie sur internet… Tu as raison, c’est déjà fermé.
Hang on, I’m checking on the internet… You’re right, it’s already closed.
B:
Eh oui, je te l’avais dit !
Yes, told you so!
Cultural note:
A popular French game to play with children is called ni oui ni non(yes/no game). The aim is for children to answer closed questionsNo definition set for closed questionsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. without saying yes or no! They are allowed to use all the above alternatives instead of oui. Sounds easy? Give it a go!
How to say ‘oui’ (yes) or ‘ouais’ (yeah) in a text message?
You may also want to say oui or ouais over text! French people are so creative when it comes to text messages. Here are a few ways people have texted me to say oui and ouais that express some regional variations:
voui
mui
wai
wé
ouep
wi
woué
ui
oé
Let’s wrap up!
Let’s wrap up what we’ve covered in our post on oui and si:
Oui is used to answer “yes” to an affirmative closed question.
Si is used to reply “yes” to a negative closed question and to contradict a negative statement.
Ouais(yep) is the most common informal form of oui.
Absolument or certainement are two other formal ways to say “yes.”
Keep the expression mais oui for when you are frustrated!
Also, I hear some of you saying “What about non(no)?" Well, here is a list of other ways of saying non in French !
Now, why not practice using oui and si in French with our exercises?
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