Learning French: what does profite bien mean and when should you use it
People might say this to wish someone enjoyment
Profite bien is informal language. Use it with peers, family or friends to wish them well
The Connexion
Profite bien is a very common phrase in French that can be used to wish someone enjoyment. We look at how to use it correctly in everyday French.
What does profite bien mean?
Profite bien is actually a reduced form of profites’en bien de quelque chose, which means ‘enjoy something’ for example: Profites’en bien de tes vacances, which means ‘enjoy your holiday.’
In everyday French, the shorter version of this is profite bien. It means ‘have a good time’.
The term is actually an imperative, or an order. This means that the conjugation is either Profite (for I, you, he) profitons (for we), or profitez (for you plural and formal)
Profites’en bien means ‘enjoy it’.
The s in Profites’en bien is only there to make the expression easier to say.
How do you pronounce profite bien?
The ‘ro’ sound is like in ‘sausage roll’
In the International phonetic alphabet (IPA) it is pronounced:
\ profǐteːbjɛ̃ \
You can copy and paste this text into the IPA reader available here.
When do you say profite bien?
As a rule of thumb, only use profite bien in spoken, familiar French, not in formal communication, letters or emails.
Use it to wish someone well.
Who do you say profite bien to?
Profite bien is informal language. Use it with peers, family or friends.
