French Phrase

T'inquiète pas, c'est pas grave.

/t‿ɛ̃.kjɛt pa, sɛ pa ɡʁav/

Meaning"Don’t worry, it’s not serious."

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Meaning

Literally ‘Don’t worry, it’s not serious.’ It’s a friendly, informal way to reassure someone that a problem is minor or that there’s no need to be concerned.

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When to use

Use it in casual conversation with friends, family, or peers when you want to calm someone down or downplay a small mishap. It’s too informal for a formal business setting or with strangers you don’t know well.

✦Grammar Breakdown

T'inquiètepas,c'estpasgrave.

Imperative with reflexive pronoun

‘T’inquiète’ is the informal imperative of ‘s’inquiéter’ (to worry). The reflexive pronoun ‘te’ contracts to ‘t’ before the vowel.

Negation without ‘ne’

In spoken French the particle ‘ne’ is often dropped, leaving only ‘pas’ to mark the negative.

c’est = ce + est

‘c’est’ is a contraction of the demonstrative ‘ce’ and the verb ‘être’, meaning ‘it is/this is’.

Adjective used predicatively

‘grave’ here is an adjective meaning ‘serious’; with ‘pas’ it forms the negated expression ‘pas grave’ = ‘not serious’.

🗨In Conversation

J’ai renversé du café sur ton livre.

I spilled coffee on your book.

T'inquiète pas, c'est pas grave.

Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal.

✕Common Mistakes

Ne t'inquiète pas, c'est pas grave.
In informal speech the ‘ne’ is dropped; keeping it makes the sentence sound overly formal for the context.
c’est pas grave
When speaking formally you should use ‘ce n’est pas grave.’ The contraction is fine only in casual conversation.
T' inquiète pas
The apostrophe must be after the ‘t’, not before; the correct spelling is ‘T’inquiète pas.’

↔Alternatives

Ne t'en fais pas, ce n'est pas grave.
Don’t worry, it’s not serious.
Pas de souci, ce n'est rien.
No problem, it’s nothing.
Ne t'inquiète pas, ce n'est rien de grave.
Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious.

Cultural Tip

In everyday spoken French, the ‘ne’ of the negative construction is almost always omitted, especially in informal settings. This gives the phrase a relaxed, friendly tone. However, in written or formal French you would keep the ‘ne’: ‘Ne t’inquiète pas, ce n’est pas grave.’