Learning French - what does pas de souci mean and when to use it?

Pas de souci is a very common expression in French that can be used as a reaction to allay someone’s concerns and show confidence. We look at how to use it correctly in everyday French.

What does pas de souci mean?

Pas de souci is actually a reduced form of il n’a pas de souci, which literally means ‘there is no problem’. 

In everyday French, the phrase works just like in English: people say pas de souci, ‘no problem’ rather than il n’a pas de souci, ‘there is no problem.’

The word souci comes from the reflexive and transitive verb soucier, ‘to worry’.

Je me soucie de toi = I worry about you (literally, I worry myself about you)

De quoi vous souciez-vous ? = what are you worrying about (literally, what are you worrying yourself about)

How do you pronounce pas de souci?

• Do not pronounce the ‘s’ in pas.

• The ‘e’ in de is like in ‘the’ in UK English, or ‘uh’ in American English

• The ‘s’ and the ‘c’ in souci both sound like the ‘s’ in snake

\pɑ də su.si\ o

When do you say pas de souci?

As a rule of thumb, only use pas de souci in spoken French, not in letters and emails.

Use it to reassure people that you can do something.

To whom do you say pas de souci ?

Pas de souci is informal language. Use it with peers, family or friends.