Il n'y a pas de quoi | Meaning & Example in a Sentence (2024)

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Are you ready to find out all the things you ever wanted to know about the basic French phrase "Il n'y a pas de quoi"? To be more precise, it includes a complete guide of what it is and how to use it in a normal conversation with an audio example. But that's not all, we also added some useful informations like slow pronunciation audio, dialogue example, synonyms and more!

What does it mean exactly?

Definition

The literal meaning is: "There is nothing to thank me for / There is no reason to thank me"

In fact, "Il n'y a pas de quoi" and its shorter version "Pas de quoi" are used quite often in daily life and are some of the most popular ways to express "You are welcome" in French. The most classic way is "De rien", so if you have to keep in mind just one, use "De rien" which will work in every situation.

Let's see a few examples!

How to use it

A very basic example: you do something for someone and the person says: "Merci" (Thank you). Then you answer: "De rien" (You are welcome) or "Avec plaisir" (My pleasure) or "Il n'y a pas de quoi" (No reason to thank me)

But now let's take the same situation and change it a little. The person who says "Merci" is your boss and you want to show some extra respect while saying "You are welcome", so you can use instead: "Avec plaisir" (With pleasure) or "Je vous en prie" ("I beg of you").

Another case: the person is now your sibling/family or a close friend. No need to be formal anymore, right? So you can use instead: "C'est rien" (That's nothing) or "Pas de quoi" (No reason to thank me) or "T'inquiète" (Don't worry) or "Pas de souci" (No worry).

Finally, imagine you think you don't deserve the "Thank you" or you think the other person is actually the one to thank. In this case you can use an expression to redirect the "Merci" toward the other person.

Examples: "C'est moi qui te remercie" → "No, I am the one who thank you" (Informal) or "C'est moi qui vous remercie" (Formal). Other options would be: "Tout le plaisir est pour moi" → "All the pleasure is for me" (Neutral) or "Merci à toi/vous" → "Thanks to you". (Informal/Formal)

Check the variations below to find the most appropriate ones regarding your situation!

Synonyms

In France, the variations you can use are:

• De rien → You are welcome (Most used one)
• Avec plaisir → With pleasure
• Je t'en en prie → You are welcome (Literally: "I beg of you")
• Je vous en prie → You are welcome (Literally: "I beg of you")(Formal)
• Pas de souci(s) → No worry(ies) (Informal)
• Pas de problème → No problem (Informal)
• T'inquiète → Don't worry (Informal)
• T'inquiète pas → Don't worry (Informal)
• Ne t'inquiète pas → Don't worry (Informal)
• C'est moi qui te remercie → No thank you (Literally: "No, I am the one who thank you")
• C'est moi qui vous remercie → No thank you (Literally: "No, I am the one who thank you")(Formal)
• Merci à toi → Thanks to you
• Merci à vous → Thanks to you (Formal)
• Tout le plaisir est pour moi → My pleasure (Literally: "All the pleasure is for me")
• Tout le plaisir était pour moi → My pleasure (Literally: "All the pleasure was for me")
• Pas de quoi → That's nothing (Literally: "No need")(Informal)
• Y'a pas de quoi → That's nothing (Literally: "There is no need")(Informal)

In other French-speaking countries, you can also use:

• Service → At your service (Literally: "Service")(Switzerland)
• Ça me fait plaisir → My pleasure (Literally: "It gives me pleasure")(Canada)
• Bienvenue → You're welcome (Literally: "Welcome")(Canada)
• S'il vous plaît → You're welcome (Literally: "Please")(Belgium)

Example in a dialogue with French audio

Bonne fête Maman !

Happy Mother's Day!

Merci, c'est gentil

Thank you, that's sweet

Il n'y a pas de quoi

You're welcome