bien

Verb

bien

1. third-person plural present indicative of bie

Etymology

From Latin bene (“well”).

Adverb

bien

1. well
2. a lot, very

Numeral

bien

1. genitive plural of bi

Noun

bien c

1. definite singular of bi

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French bien, from Old French bien, from Latin bene (“well”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bjɛ̃/
• Rhymes: -jɛ̃

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

bien (invariable, comparative meilleur)

1. good; all right; great
2. good looking; nice

Adverb

bien (comparative mieux, superlative le mieux)

1. well

   Ça va bien ? ― How's it going? (literally, “It goes well?”)

   Il joue vraiment bien au football.

   He plays soccer really well.

2. indeed; so

   Synonym: alors

   Bien, on peut partir maintenant ?

   So, can we leave now?

3. (followed by de, des, or du) a lot (of)

   Macy Gray a traversé bien des épreuves.

   Macy Gray got through a lot of ordeals.

4. very; really

   C’est bien aimable à vous. ― it's very considerate of you.

   C’est bien beau, mais... ― It's all very well, but...

   Je te trouve bien silencieux aujourd’hui. ― You seem very quiet today.

   Il est bien moche, ce type. Ce type est vraiment moche. ― That guy is really ugly.

   • 2018, Zaz, On s'en remet jamais:

     Est-ce que les parfums s’évaporent, ou restent-ils dans notre tête comme ces étoiles qui brillent encore, mais qui sont bien loin de la fête ?

     Do the perfumes evaporate, or do they stay in our heads like these stars which still shine, but which are very far from the party?

5. (in comparisons) much (more, less, better, etc.)

   Jérémie est bien plus fort que moi.

   Jérémie is much stronger than me.

   bien meilleur que […]

   much better than […]

6. Used to confirm or ask for confirmation

   Tu as bien fermé les fenêtres ?

   Did you make sure to close the windows?

Noun

bien m (plural biens)

1. good as opposed to evil
2. a commodity, a good
3. a possession

Further reading

• “bien”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• béni

Romanization

bien

1. Rōmaji transcription of びえん