Gap-fill
Tant pis or tant mieux: fill the gaps in a change of plans
Practise tant pis and tant mieux in a short French exchange about changing plans, with six gaps, translations and a check on tant pis pour toi.
- B1
- 6 gaps
- Translation included
- Learn this in the B1 notebook →
In short
Tant pis accepts a setback: “too bad” or “never mind”. Tant mieux welcomes good news: “that’s good” or “all the better”. Both are fixed phrases, so their spelling stays the same whoever is speaking.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learnRed watch out
Tant pis.Never mind.
Focus: accepting an unwelcome result
tant pis + next step
Tu n’es pas libre ? Tant pis, on se verra demain.
You’re not free? Never mind, we’ll see each other tomorrow.
Tant mieux !That’s good!
Focus: welcoming an improvement
tant mieux + reason
Tu es libre demain ? Tant mieux, moi aussi !
You’re free tomorrow? That’s good, so am I!
What is the difference between tant pis and tant mieux?
- Nora
La réunion est reportée à vendredi.
The meeting has been postponed until Friday.
- Léa
Tant mieux pour moi, je serai disponible vendredi.
That’s good for me; I’ll be available on Friday.
- Samir
Moi, je ne pourrai pas venir. Tant pis, je lirai le compte rendu.
I won’t be able to come. Never mind, I’ll read the minutes.
Léa welcomes the new day; Samir loses the chance to attend. The event is the same, but their reactions follow their own plans. Pour moi, pour elle and pour nous name the person or group affected.
Complete the exchange
Use tant pis or tant mieux in each gap. The words beside the gaps give the intended reaction. Each reply continues with a reason or an alternative.
On trouvera un autre moment
— Je ne peux pas venir ce soir, je travaille jusqu’à vingt-deux heures. — (accept the setback), on se parlera demain.
— Demain, je finis à seize heures. — (welcome the news) ! On aura le temps de discuter.
— Mais Nora travaille demain soir. — (accept the setback) pour demain, alors. Essayons samedi.
— Samedi, nous sommes tous disponibles. — (welcome the news) ! Je vais prévenir Nora.
— Elle propose dix-huit heures au lieu de dix-neuf heures. Ça m’arrange. — (welcome the improvement) pour toi ! Moi aussi, je préfère commencer tôt.
— Finalement, Samir ne peut pas venir. — (accept the setback), on le verra dimanche. Pour samedi, on garde dix-huit heures.
Read it in English
“I can’t come tonight; I’m working until ten.” “Never mind, we’ll speak tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow I finish at four.” “That’s good! We’ll have time to talk.”
“But Nora works tomorrow evening.” “Too bad about tomorrow, then. Let’s try Saturday.”
“On Saturday, we’re all available.” “That’s good! I’ll let Nora know.”
“She suggests six instead of seven. That suits me.” “All the better for you! I also prefer starting early.”
“In the end, Samir can’t come.” “Never mind, we’ll see him on Sunday. For Saturday, we’ll keep six o’clock.”
Is tant pis pour toi rude?
Tu as raté ton entretien ? Je suis désolée pour toi.
You missed your interview? I’m sorry to hear that.
This expresses sympathy directly.
Tant pis pour toi ! can sound like “too bad for you!” or “that’s your problem!” For someone’s disappointment, Je suis désolée pour toi is warmer. Keep Tant pis for accepting your own setback or moving a shared plan along.