Bien vs Bon
In French, bien and bon serve different functions: bon describes quality while bien evaluates manner or correctness. Choosing between them changes meaning.
Bon
Use bon as an adjective to describe something's quality, taste, usefulness, or suitability. It agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies.
Examples
| French Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🍰 Cette tarte est bonne ! | This pie is good! |
| 🍵 Le café est bon, pas trop amer. | The coffee is good, not too bitter. |
| 🍞 Le pain est bon et bien croustillant. | The bread is good and nicely crispy. |
| 🧀 Le fromage est bon et bien goûteux. | The cheese is good and very flavorful. |
Expressions
| French Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 👍 C’est bon, je peux goûter ? | It’s good, can I taste? |
| 🔥 Bon appétit ! | Enjoy your meal! |
| ✅ C’est bon pour moi. | That’s good for me. |
| 🚫 Ce n’est pas bon pour la santé. | That’s not good for health. |
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Bien
Use bien mostly as an adverb to describe how an action is performed, to approve something, or to indicate skill or correctness. It does not agree in gender or number when modifying verbs.
Examples
| French Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 🍽️ J’ai bien mangé ce soir. | I ate well tonight. |
| 🧼 Elle a bien lavé les assiettes. | She washed the plates well. |
| ⏰ Le gâteau a bien cuit pendant une heure. | The cake baked well for an hour. |
| 🎉 Tout s’est bien passé à la fête. | Everything went well at the party. |
Expressions
| French Example | English Translation |
|---|---|
| 👍 Tu as bien travaillé. | You worked well. |
| 💤 Je ne me suis pas bien reposé. | I didn’t rest well. |
| ✔️ C’est bien fait. | It’s well done. |
| 🤔 Ce n’est pas bien de mentir. | It’s not good to lie. |
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Special Cases
Sometimes bien can function like an adjective, and expressions like un bon gâteau versus un gâteau bien fait show the difference between quality and manner. Context matters.
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Summary
Use bon to describe the quality of a noun and bien to describe how an action is done or to give an evaluative adverbial comment. Remember agreement rules and think about whether you want to modify a noun (use bon) or an action (use bien).
Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025