The Meaning of Ça in French

The Meaning of Ça in French In French, the word  Ãƒ §a  means it or that. Its a very simple word, but its also a very useful word that every French student needs to add to their vocabulary because its used in a number of common expressions. A brief lesson will introduce you to this word and the many ways you can use it. The Definition of Ça The pronunciation of à §a is sa. The cà ©dille (or cedilla) is used on the letter c  to ensure that it has a soft sound. Without it, the a would automatically give the c  a hard sound like it does in the word cat. Ça is an informal word that is actually a contraction of cela, which means it.  Ãƒâ€¡a  is also used to replace the more formal  ceci, which means this. These derivations are why  Ãƒ §a  is often defined as it, that, or this. Ça  is also an indefinite demonstrative pronoun. Unlike some other pronouns, it does not change based on the subject or the number of the sentence. This means that there are no other forms of  Ãƒ §a, which makes using it in sentences a little easier. Using  Ãƒâ€¡a  in Common Expressions Due to its meaning and usefulness as a pronoun,  Ãƒ §a  is found in a number of common expressions and phrases. Even though it is informal, the French language uses it often. Cest à §a  - Thats it, thats right Ça alors  - How about that Ça va ?  - Hows it going? Ça marche !  - That works! Okay! Quest-ce que à §a ?  -  What is it/that?   Cest quoi à §a ? - Whats that? Quest-ce que à §a veut dire ? - What does that mean? Ça maide beaucoup - It helps me a lot. Its interesting to note that the phrase, Ça cest une bonne idà ©e. is redundant in its use of that. Since cest is included along with à §a, it literally translates to, That (that) is a good idea. Notice how when the two words are reversed in Cest à §a above, the translation makes perfect sense. This is just another tricky thing to look out for when switching between the two languages.