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« Ben voyons donc »

No way! Oh, come on! Come on, it’s OK.

FamilierShort, 0:56. Published Oct 14, 2026.

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Heard
« Ben voyons donc »
Literally
Well, let’s see, then.
Means
A reaction. Amazed: “No way!” Flat: “Oh, come on!” Kind: “Come on, that can be fixed.”
Say back
« Ben voyons donc! »
No way!
Captions on

Watch on YouTube

Answer in the YouTube comments: Which mood would you use it in today?

Literally “well, let’s see, then”, it is a reaction: amazed, flat or kind. The tone tells you which.

Transcript

Every line of the video, as spoken. The narration is in English.

  1. Julie « Ben voyons donc! »
  2. Narrator Julie isn’t upset. She’s amazed. Here, « ben voyons donc » means: no way!
  3. Narrator Now watch Jacob.
  4. Jacob « Ben voyons donc… »
  5. Narrator Same three words. Now it’s: oh, come on!
  6. Julie « Ben voyons donc, ça se répare! »
  7. Narrator And here, it’s gentle: come on, that can be fixed.
  8. Narrator Literally: well, let’s see, then.
  9. Narrator Really, it’s a reaction: surprise, annoyance or comfort. The tone tells you which.
  10. Narrator It’s familier: friends and family.
  11. Narrator And in this phrase, donc has no K. « Ben voyons donc. »
  12. Narrator Your turn. Jacob’s about to say it. Surprise, annoyance, or comfort?
  13. Jacob « Ben voyons donc. »
  14. Julie (laughs)
  15. Narrator Annoyance. Mostly.
  16. Narrator And when someone says it amazed, answer: « Ben oui! » Yep, really.
  17. Narrator You heard it. Now you know it.

When to use it

Familier

Familier. « Donc » has no k sound here.

Example lines

  • « Mais voyons donc! »Oh, come on!Usito, « donc »
  • « Tu es capable, voyons. »You can do it, come on.Usito, « voir »

Practise it

2 questions
1. What does « Ben voyons donc » mean?
2. Familier or standard?

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Sources

Every claim in the video is checked against these.

  1. Usito, entry « voir », sense 8
    Q/C, familier; astonishment, irritation; « voyons » urges or reproaches.
  2. Usito, entry « donc »
    Reinforces an exclamation; said [dɔ̃], no k.
  3. Larousse French-English, « ben »
    « Ben » is the familier form of « bien ».

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