SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/fr-de-rien

Someone says 'Merci !' to you. What is the usual French reply meaning 'You're welcome'?

De rien means you're welcome.

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  1. De rien ✔
  2. Bonne nuit
  3. Au revoir

Why: De rien literally means 'of nothing', like 'it was nothing'. Bonne nuit means good night and au revoir means goodbye.

Huh, didn't know that: Rien on its own means nothing, so de rien is a modest way to say the favor was no trouble.

The dad joke
I held the door for a French snail. It said merci, I said de rien, and twenty minutes later it was through.
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References

Answer: De rien. De rien literally means 'of nothing', like 'it was nothing'. Bonne nuit means good night and au revoir means goodbye.

  1. Larousse French-English: rien www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais-anglais/rien
    je vous remercie, de rien ! thanks, you're welcome ou not at all ou don't mention it
    Checked 2026-10-12.

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