n'est-ce pas

UK/nɛsˈpa/UK/nɛsˈpɑː/

phrase

Used to form tag questions.

OriginFrench n'est-ce pas →
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Meanings

phrase
  1. humorousUsed to form tag questions.

    I know him well, we artists have the common touch, n'est-ce pas?

    1935, Thomas Wolfe, Of Time and the River, page 763
    1 more example

    It is just a little quarrel of two most worthy women, n'est-ce pas

    2003, Richard Pevear, Larissa Volokhonsky, The Adolescent, translation of original by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, published 1875, page 527

Origin

  1. Frenchn'est-ce pas
  2. Frenchn'est-ce pas
  3. Englishn'est-ce pas

Unadapted borrowing from French n'est-ce pas (“isn't it?”).

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with n'est-ce pas

lapamanaardaspahayaraahtabrazakaallahpapachafraabashahskamoinah
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

n'est-ce pas. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/n'est-ce%20pas

MLA

“n'est-ce pas.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/n'est-ce%20pas. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “n'est-ce pas,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/n'est-ce%20pas.

Source: n'est-ce pas on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.