Phrasebook
De rien or je vous en prie? Five ways to reply to thanks
Say you’re welcome with de rien, je vous en prie, je t’en prie and avec plaisir. Practise short exchanges and recognise “please do” in context.
- A2
- 10 phrases
- 5 situations
- Learn this in the A2 notebook →
In short
After merci, de rien is an everyday “you’re welcome”; je vous en prie is a courteous option with vous. With someone you call tu, say je t’en prie. When someone asks permission, je vous en prie can mean “please do”.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
A small favour
De rien is short and natural after an ordinary thank-you. It works with people you call tu or vous.
A courteous reply
The speaker uses vous. Keep en in the complete reply.
One person you call tu
Te becomes t’ before en. The rest of the expression stays the same.
You were happy to help
Avec plaisir adds the idea that you were glad to do it. It also works when accepting an invitation.
Please do
Here the first speaker asks permission. The reply gives permission, so “please do” fits.
What is the difference between de rien and je vous en prie?
| Previous turn | Reply | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Merci beaucoup. | Je vous en prie. | You’re welcome. |
| Je peux continuer ? | Je vous en prie. | Please do / go ahead. |
| Merci pour tout. | De rien. | You’re welcome. |
A warm de rien is perfectly polite in everyday conversation. Use je vous en prie when you want a more courteous reply, such as in the course’s professional telephone exchange. The situation and your tone do more than the length of the phrase. Neither reply needs an extra merci to be complete.
- Je vous prie.Je vous en prie.
For the “you’re welcome” formula, keep the small pronoun en.
- Je te en prie.Je t’en prie.
Te loses its vowel before en: write t’en.