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Ça vaut le coup: meaning, sentence patterns and an eight-question quiz

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Say “it’s worth it” in French with ça vaut le coup. Practise de plus an infinitive, the negative, past and future forms, and coup versus coût.

In short

Ça vaut le coup means “It’s worth it.” To name an action, add de and an infinitive: Ça vaut le coup de relire ce passage. The expression can concern time, effort, enjoyment or money.

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A woman reads a book by a window with a cup of tea nearby.
Taking time to reread can be worth it: Ça vaut le coup. Illustration: Atelier

Study first: the patterns behind the quiz

An action, a judgement and a reason
PatternFrenchEnglish
PositiveÇa vaut le coup de vérifier.It’s worth checking.
Before a vowelÇa vaut le coup d’essayer.It’s worth trying.
NegativeÇa ne vaut pas le coup.It isn’t worth it.
Past judgementÇa valait le coup.It was worth it.
Future judgementÇa vaudra le coup.It will be worth it.
More neutral wordingCela vaut la peine de vérifier.It is worth checking.

The fixed expression uses coup. Le coût, with a circumflex, means “the cost”. Keep the whole phrase together: valoir le coup de faire quelque chose. In everyday speech, you may hear Ça vaut pas le coup with ne dropped. The full written negative is Ça ne vaut pas le coup.

Ça vaut le coup de relire le début : on comprend mieux la fin.

It’s worth rereading the beginning: you understand the ending better.

Recopier tout le texte pour changer un mot ne vaut pas le coup.

Copying out the whole text to change one word isn’t worth it.

These two judgements weigh effort against a benefit. In the first, rereading helps with understanding. In the second, copying everything out takes too much effort for a small change. Use the phrase to explain your own recommendation, then add the reason.

  1. Question 1No account needed
    Which spelling means “It’s worth it”?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Ça vaut le coup.. The fixed expression is valoir le coup. Coût means cost; cou means neck.

  2. Question 2No account needed
    Complete the pattern before an infinitive.Ça vaut le coup ___ vérifier la conclusion.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    de. Use de before the action: Ça vaut le coup de vérifier.

  3. Question 3No account needed
    Complete the expression before a vowel.Ça vaut le coup ___essayer.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    d’. De becomes d’ before a vowel: d’essayer.

  4. Question 4No account needed
    Choose the complete written negative.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Ça ne vaut pas le coup.. Put ne before vaut and pas after it: Ça ne vaut pas le coup.

  5. Question 5No account needed
    Use the imparfait to say the rereading was worth it.Finalement, ça ___ le coup de tout relire.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    valait. The imparfait is valait: Ça valait le coup de tout relire.

  6. Question 6No account needed
    Use the future to say it will be worth it.Quand la version complète sera prête, ça ___ le coup de la lire.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    vaudra. The future singular form of valoir is vaudra.

  7. Question 7No account needed
    Which sentence recommends an action and explains its benefit?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Ça vaut le coup de comparer les réponses : les différences sont utiles.. The first sentence recommends comparing and gives a reason after the colon.

  8. Question 8No account needed
    Choose the more neutral alternative with the same meaning.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Cela vaut la peine de vérifier.. The complete alternative is valoir la peine de plus an infinitive.

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