pas

Meaning

Noun

1. (invariable, masculine) step, pace, footstep
2. (invariable, masculine) strait, pass
3. (invariable, masculine) thread, pitch (of a screw or nut)

Adv

1. The most common adverb of negation in French, typically translating into English as not, don't, doesn't, etc.
2. (colloquial) used as an intensifier in underlying rethorical questions, mostly with voilà

Concepts

step

pace

stride

footstep

pitch

not

🚫

no

🙅

tread

pas

thread

🧵

move

footprint

👣

take a step

measure

non

nowhere

passage

passing

pitching

ribbon

🎀

screw thread

stair

stamping

stepping

striding

take

tempo

threshold

track

wrong

wrongly

yard

dance step

walk fast

marking time

auction pitch

negative particle

not doesn't

amble

blunder

cadence

crushing

delivery

fast

footfall

footmark

gait

goose-step

incorrectly

lurch

Synonyms

ne pas

allure

ne

🚫

démarche

faire un pas

non

🙅

marche

ne … pas

mesure

enjambée

fil

🧶

escalier

étape

faire

gorge

lancer

mauvais

👎

mesurer

nul

🙅

passage

personne

🧑‍🦱

podium

rapidement

rien

ruban

seuil

un

vitesse

marcher rapidement

bruit de pas

filetage

marquer le pas

ne guère

ne point

pas de vis

compteur pour les pas

niet

e part

rythme

arpenter

aucun

🙅

baïonnette

col

coup

défilé

disposition

écartement

échelon

empreinte

Translations

paso

Schritt

passo

passo

pas

stap

βήμα

Tritt

nicht

🚫

non

🚫

adım

no

🚫

pas

niet

🚫

Pronounced as (IPA)

/pa/

Etymology

Inherited from Old French: pas

Inherited from Latin: passus

Cognate with Latin: nec… passum

In summary

Inherited from Old French pas, from Latin passus.
Its use as an auxiliary negative adverb comes from an accusative use (Latin nec… passum) in negative constructions – literally “not… a step”, i.e. “not at all” – originally used with certain verbs of motion. In older French other nouns could also be used in this way, such as ne… goutte (“not… a drop”) and ne… mie (“not… a crumb”), but in the modern language pas has become grammaticalized.

Sentences

Il ne sait pas le secret .

He doesn't know the secret.

Nous ne sommes donc pas dans cette situation .

So we are not in this situation.

Denis ne comprend pas pourquoi .

Denis doesn't understand why.

Votre précision ne me semble donc pas indispensable .

Your precision therefore does not seem essential to me.

Il n'est pas debout , il est assis sur une pierre .

He is not standing, he is sitting on a stone.

Mais les sœurs ne comptent pas rester oisives face à la situation ...

But the sisters do not intend to remain idle in the face of the situation...