bon vs bien - French Language2024-03-28T22:22:09Zhttp://www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk/forum/topics/bon-vs-bien?commentId=3179028%3AComment%3A30187&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noIt's true that bien can be an…tag:www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk,2011-05-20:3179028:Comment:301872011-05-20T08:05:23.345ZNeil Coffeyhttp://www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk/profile/NeilCoffey
<p>It's true that <strong>bien</strong> can be an adverb, meaning "well", "properly" etc.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>However, <strong>bien</strong> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">can also be an adjective</span>, meaning something similar to <strong>bon</strong>. The difference is that bien tends to mean "good" from a more subjective point of view, meaning things like "comfortable", "well made", "pleasant", "good-looking" etc, whereas <strong>bon</strong> tends to mean "good", "good-quality",…</p>
<p>It's true that <strong>bien</strong> can be an adverb, meaning "well", "properly" etc.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>However, <strong>bien</strong> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">can also be an adjective</span>, meaning something similar to <strong>bon</strong>. The difference is that bien tends to mean "good" from a more subjective point of view, meaning things like "comfortable", "well made", "pleasant", "good-looking" etc, whereas <strong>bon</strong> tends to mean "good", "good-quality", "correct" from a slightly more objective/measurable point of view.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So in your example, if you describe a city as "bien", you're making some kind of value judgement about e.g. how pleasant it is to live/visit there, whereas "bonne" would (if used at all-- I suspect lauris is right that it wouldn0't be so common) imply more "concrete" or "measurable" things such as how well its economy was doing.</p> Hi
You question is kind of tr…tag:www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk,2011-05-20:3179028:Comment:301842011-05-20T07:22:56.472Zlaurishttp://www.forum.french-linguistics.co.uk/profile/lauris
<p>Hi</p>
<p>You question is kind of tricky, I think, because, you won't really same that a city is "bonne" or "bien. Especially "bonne".</p>
<p>You can hear "La ville d'Osaka est bien" or "la ville de Kobe est moins bien" but it is quite familiar. In more formal french, you won't use it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nevertheless, you will rather say "la ville de nagoya est aussi bien que osaka" and "la ville de tokyo est mieux que osaka"</p>
<p>I don't have examples to illustrate the difference between…</p>
<p>Hi</p>
<p>You question is kind of tricky, I think, because, you won't really same that a city is "bonne" or "bien. Especially "bonne".</p>
<p>You can hear "La ville d'Osaka est bien" or "la ville de Kobe est moins bien" but it is quite familiar. In more formal french, you won't use it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nevertheless, you will rather say "la ville de nagoya est aussi bien que osaka" and "la ville de tokyo est mieux que osaka"</p>
<p>I don't have examples to illustrate the difference between "bien" and "bon".....</p>