Transcript

Not really. Not really.

In French, when you change the order of words in a sentence, you can mean something completely different, or you can simply add a little nuance.

This is the case between "not really" and "really not". By inverting these two words, you'll add nuance to the sentence.

The sentence will not mean exactly the same thing.

Welcome to this new video, I hope you're in good shape to continue improving your French with me. If you're new to the channel, I'm Elisabeth.

On my channel, I offer you videos to improve your French every week.

Today, we're going to look at the difference between "really not" and "not really". This question was put to me by a subscriber. Don't hesitate to comment on any concepts or expressions you'd like me to explain.

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Vraiment pas, in French, means "not at all" in English.

Whereas "pas vraiment" means "not really".

Not at all and not really.

So "really not" and "not really". I'll give you some context to help you understand and, above all, to perceive the nuance.

Let's start with really not. If you say "really not", you mean not at all. You're quite firm. If you have any doubts in the sentence, replace it with "not at all".

Here are a few contextualizations. The cinema is not far away. You can walk to it. So you mean it's not far at all. It's close.

Do you like eating beet? I really don't. I hate beets, so you're pretty firm. "Not at all," you don't like beets at all.

This dog really isn't smart. He can't see that I'm hiding his toys behind my back. So this dog isn't smart at all. I ate oysters yesterday and I really don't feel well. I think I'm going to throw up.

So you're not well at all.

We'll use "not really" either to say not totally, not entirely. Or to say no in a softer way. For example, if I say do you want to eat a pizza? Not really, I'd rather eat a salad.

It's a "no" said in a slightly softer way. "Not really", it's not totally that, not exactly that, it's not your first choice you might say.

It's less firm, less radical, if you like, than "really not". Let me give you some more context.

Is your dress red? Not really, it's more burgundy. So we understand that it's pretty close to red, but it's not exactly red.

Do you like going to the seaside? Not really, no. I prefer vacations in the mountains. So we understand that we prefer vacations in the mountains, but we don't hate vacations by the sea. If I had answered "really not", that would mean I hate going to the seaside.

Cynthia never really knew her father. He abandoned her when she was three. So we understand that she didn't know him very well. She doesn't know him completely.

That's it for today. That was a pretty short lesson. I hope you enjoyed it.

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I'll see you soon.