In French, tant is one of those words that has a multitude of meanings depending on the context. Since there’s no single tant definition, the focus of today’s post is on all the ways that we can use this versatile word in French.

So are you ready to learn every tant meaning in French? Whether used on its own to add intensity, in various structures built around tant que, as a way to describe people or things as en tant que, in tant exclamations, or in fixed expressions like tant pis or tant mieux, we’ll cover every way to use tant in French!

Let’s start with a quick summary to show all the different tant meanings. Read on for full details and explanations of each one.

Summary: Every Tant meaning in French

Before we get into detailed lessons on each tant meaning, let’s just have a quick overview of each one. Here we’ll introduce each use of tant in French with an example. Click through to jump to the sections with their full explanations.

Exclamations with Tant

• Tant de + noun: Zut ! Il y a tant de moustiques ici ! – Drat! There are so many mosquitos here!
• Tant + verb: Ce candidat ment tant ! – This candidate lies so much!

Tant expressions to denote intensity

• Tant pis: Il pleut. Tant pis. Allons balader pareil. – It’s raining. Oh well. Let’s go for a walk anyway.
• Tant mieux: La réunion est annulée ? Tant mieux ! – The meeting is cancelled? Sounds good to me!
• Tant et plus: Le chien de nos voisins aboie tant et plus ! – Our neighbor’s dog barks a whole lot!
• Tant soit peu: Il devrait sourire tant soit peu aux clients si il espère recevoir des pourboires. – He ought to smile at the clients even a little bit if he hopes to receive tips.
• Tant qu’à + infinitif: Tant qu’à venir au karaoke, chantons au moins une chanson ! – As long as we’ve come to karaoke, let’s sing at least one song.
• Tant qu’à faire: Tu passes le balai ? Tant qu’à faire, pourquoi ne pas passer la serpillère aussi ? – You’re sweeping the floor? While you’re at it, why not mop too?

Tant to describe a vague quantity

• Tant: Les oisillons doivent grandir tant avant de quitter le nid. – The chicks need to grow a certain amount before leaving the nest.

Tant to link cause and effect

• Tant + cause: Je ne prêterais jamais ma voiture à Juliette, tant elle conduit mal. – I’d never lend my car to Juliette, given how very badly she drives.
• Verb + tant + que: Normalement en Normandie, il pleut tant que nous n’avons pas besoin d’irriguer nos cultures. – Normally in Normandy, it rains so much that we don’t need to irrigate our crops.
• Tant de + noun + que: Elle a tant de followers sur TikTok qu’elle commence à gagner sa vie de ça. – She has so many followers on TikTok that she’s starting to make her living from it.
• Tant + adjective + que + subjunctive: L’eau n’est pas tant chaude qu’on puisse s’y baigner. – The water isn’t so warm that we can swim in it.
• Tant et si bien que: J’ai sorti avec mes colocs le jeudi soir, tant et si bien que nous étions en retard pour notre cours le vendredi matin. – I went out with my flatmates on Thursday night, so of course we were late for class on Friday morning.

Tant to describe timing

• Tant que for simultaneous actions: Je reste à l’ombre tant que le soleil tape si fortement. – I’m staying in the shade as long as the sun is beating down with such force.
• Tant que for a prior action: Nous continuerons à jouer à la pétanque tant que le soleil ne sera pas couché. – We’ll keep playing pétanque as long as the sun hasn’t set.

En tant que to describe a role or capacity

• En tant que: En tant qu’étudiant, j’ai beaucoup de rabais chez les commerçants locaux. – As a student, I have lots of discounts at local businesses.

Exclamations with Tant

In its capacity as an emphasizing word, we can use tant with other words to make simple exclamations. The construction of these tant exclamations takes a few different forms, so let’s see each one in turn.

Tant de + noun

When we introduce a noun with tant de, we’re stating as an exclamation that there’s so much of that noun. This use is synonymous with the same construction using tellement de + noun, which is a bit more common.

• Oh mon dieu la plage est pleine, il y a tant de monde ! – Oh mon dieu la plage est pleine, il y a tellement de monde ! – Oh my god the beach is full, there are so many people!

• Ce mec est toujours habillé chic. Il a tant de classe ! – Ce mec est toujours habillé chic. Il a tellement de classe ! – That guy is always dressed well. He has so much class!

Tant + verb

When we want to emphasize an action, we can do so with tant or tellement. The English equivalent is usually so much. Tellement remains more common than tant for this in this construction, though both are correct.

• Le buffet était génial. J’ai mangé tant ! – The buffet was great. I ate so much!

• Ton chein est impressionant. Il court tant ! – Your dog is impressive. He runs so much!

The word order is fairly flexible, since we can choose place tant before or after the verb. Both have the same meaning, though placing the adverb after the verb is more common.

• J’ai tant mangé ! – J’ai mangé tellement ! – J’ai tellement mangé ! – I ate so much!

• Tant il court ! – Il court tellement ! – Tellement il court ! – He runs so much!

Tant expressions to denote intensity

Tant appears in many short French expressions that all indicate some level of intensity. These instances of tant in French align with the meanings we’ve seen so far, with the various tant meanings of so many or so much.

Tant pis

Tant pis may be the most common French tant expression. It’s used to express resignation with a situation that we wish were different, but that can’t be changed. Oh well, so be it. Tant pis is a way to defuse a situation that could be really aggravating, by just admitting that it is what it is.

• Tous les trains sont supprimés ? Tant pis. On ira demain. – All the trains are cancelled? So be it. We’ll go tomorrow.

• Personne ne peut venir. Tant pis. Je vais au festival pareil, même seul. – Nobody can come. It is what it is. I’ll still go to the festival, even on my own.

• Tant pis, Dude. Allons au bowling. – Fuck it, Dude. Let’s go bowling.

Tant mieux

Tant mieux has the same meaning as c’est très bien ainsi, which translates as it’s very good this way. We use tant mieux as a standalone response to news that may not have been what we were expecting, but which sounds like a good alternative anyway. English equivalents can therefore vary. It’s a pretty neutral statement that we can use without really coming across as favoring one option over the other.

• La boulangerie ouvre à 7h ? Tant mieux. On peut partir plus tôt si tu veux. – The bakery opens at 7am? That works out well then. We can leave earlier if you want.

• Tu as déjà promené le chien ce soir ? Tant mieux. J’ai la flemme ! – You already walked the dog tonight? Sounds good to me. I really don’t feel like it!

• Ah oui ? Ils se sont finalement séparés ? Tant mieux. C’était évident qu’ils n’était pas faits l’un pour l’autre. – Oh yeah? They finally separated? It’s all good, anyway. It was evident that they weren’t made for each other.

Tant et plus

This informal expression can be translated as a ton or a lot, as it’s used to refer to an exaggerated amount. This expression isn’t very common.

• Il y a tant et plus de bois au chalet. – There’s a ton of wood at the cottage.

• Des moustiques, il y en avait tant et plus au camping ! – Mosquitos, there were tons of them at the campground!

Tant soit peu

Tant soit peu or un tant soit peu is used to suggest just a little bit or even a little. Note that this use of tant is not very common, so you’re unlikely to hear it in everyday French.

• Même si tu fumes tant soit peu, tu le ressentirais en randonnée. – Even if you smoke just a little, you’ll feel it when hiking.

• Tant soit peu que je connais de ce politicien, déjà je le deteste. – Even so little that I know about this politician, already I hate him.

Tant qu’à + infinitif

This construction introduces an action that, as long as it happens, yet another action would be even better.

It’s a given that the first action, introduced in infinitive form as part of the tant qu’à + infinitive construction, is already happening. After a comma, the next action is introduced in its own clause as a suggestion.

A good English equivalent for this expression is as long as + verb, …. The English version is usually in other tenses than the infinitive. We’ll put the French infinitif and its various English equivalents in italics in our examples here.

• Tant qu’à se resservir, finissons le fromage. Ça ne vaut pas la peine de ranger si peu. – As long as we’re serving ourselves again, let’s just finish the cheese. There’s no point in putting away so little.

• Tant qu’à être si proche de la frontière espagnole, allons de l’autre côté pour des tapas ! – As long as we’re so close to the Spanish border, let’s go to the other side for tapas!

• Tant qu’à venir jusqu’ici pour le spectacle, restons jusqu’à la fin. – As long as we’ve come all the way here for the show, let’s stay to the very end.

Tant qu’à faire

In French, tant qu’à faire is a common standalone expression that follows the same construction we saw in the previous entry. We say tant qu’à faire to suggest that as long as we’re doing one thing, let’s do another.

• Le plombier doit déjà couper ce tuyau pour l’installation de la lave-vaisselle, je vais lui demander de remplacer le drain en entier. / Oui je comprends. Tant qu’à faire. – Since the plumber already needs to cut this pipe to install the dishwasher, I’m going to ask him to replace the drain altogether. / Yeah, I get it. As long as you’re doing it, do it all the way.

• Tu nettoies la cuisine ? Tant qu’à faire, peux-tu laver la table à manger en même temps ? – You’re cleaning the kitchen? As long as you’re doing it, can you clean the dining table at the same time?

• J’ai rangé tous mes papiers dans des classeurs, et j’ai même ajouté des étiquettes. / Mais oui, tant qu’à faire. – I arranged all my papers in binders, and I even added labels. / Well yeah, while you’re at it, why not?

Tant to describe a vague quantity

Just as we saw in the previous section with the uses of French tant in exclamations, we can use tant in everyday conversation as a stand-in for a vague quantity. The English equivalent is often still so much.

Tant

Used on its own, tant essentially serves as a pronoun for an undefined quantity. It might signify a lot if the context implies it, although it may also just signify any random quantity.

• J’ai passé trois jours à Paris et j’ai dépensé tant par jour. – I spent three days in Paris and I spent so much per day.

• Chaque fois que tes parents viennent en visite ils doivent toujours dormir tant, manger tant et sortir tant. Je ne sais jamais comment les rendre heureux ! – Every time your parents come for a visit they always need to sleep this much, eat that much, and go out this much. I never know how to make them happy!

• Disons que tu trouves une portefeuille avec tant d’argent dedans, tu ferais quoi ? – Let’s say that you found a wallet with a certain amount of money in it, what would you do?

Tant to link cause and effect

Tant can be used as a linking word to introduce a cause for something previously mentioned. By introducing the cause with tant, we’re saying that it’s a strong intensity of whatever we’re describing that leads to the effect.

The cause and effect are stated in two distinct clauses of a sentence, with tant introducing the clause that explains the reason for the other clause’s consequence. Several constructions are possible here, so let’s take a look at each one in turn.

Tant + cause

In this construction, the effect needs to be stated in the first clause, followed by our tant phrase explaining the reason. Tellement can be used interchangeably in this use, and is actually more common than tant.

English translations for this use of tant in French can vary, as long as they express a reason and include some level of intensity.

• J’ai du mal à me concentrer, tant il fait chaud dans mon appartement. – I have trouble concentrating, since it’s so hot in my apartment.

• Elle ne vient jamais au happy hour, tant elle travaille tard. – She works late so much, to the point that she never comes to happy hour.

• Je n’oserait jamais laisser le parasol ouvert sans surveillance, tant le vent souffle fort à Avignon. – I’d never dare leave the parasol open unattended, given how hard the wind blows in Avignon.

Verb + tant + que

In this construction, we’re expressing that the verb’s action is done so much that it leads to the effect. The English tant que translation here is usually so much that.

• Les fanatiques crient tant durant le match qu’ils perdent leurs voix. – The fans yell so much during the match that they lose their voices.

• Mon petit frère écoute tant Bob Marley qu’il connaît toutes les paroles. – My brother listens to Bob Marley so much that he knows all the lyrics.

• Mon père gagne enfin tant grâce à ses investissements qu’il peut prendre sa retraite quand il veut. – My father finally earns enough thanks to his investments that he can retire when he wants.

Tellement can be used interchangeably in this construction, as verb + tellement + que. Tellement can also be used with adjectives and adverbs, but tant cannot.

• Le son est tellement fort que nous ne pouvons même pas parler. – The sound is so loud that we can’t even talk.

• Les fanatiques crient tellement fortement qu’ils perdent leurs voix. – The fans scream so loudly that they lose their voices.

This rule also applies to past participles used as adjectives: we cannot use tant.

• La quiche est tellement salée qu’elle n’est même pas comestible.

When we have past participles as part of conjugated verbs using avoir, however, we can still use either tant or tellement.

• Mon copain a salé la quiche tant que nous devons la jeter. – Mon copain a salé la quiche tellement que nous devons la jeter. – My boyfriend salted the quiche so much that we have to throw it away.

• Les fanatiques ont tant crié durant le match qu’ils ont perdu leurs voix. – Les fanatiques ont tellement crié durant le match qu’ils ont perdu leurs voix. – The fans yelled so much during the match that they lost their voices.

Tant de + noun + que

Here we use tant de in French to state that there’s so much of something that it leads to a result. For countable nouns, we state them in plural in this construction.

• Il a mis tant de sel dans la quiche qu’elle n’est plus comestible. – He put so much salt in the quiche that it’s no longer edible.

• Notre grange abrite tant de hirondelles que le chat a peur de s’y aventurer ! – Our barn is home to so many swallows that our cat is afraid to venture in there!

• On a eu tant de neige en avril qu’on pensai que le printemps n’arriverait jamais ! – We had so much snow in April that we thought spring would never arrive!

Note that this structure is a step up in intensity from using beaucoup, meaning much or a lot of. We cannot use tant with beaucoup, as in “il a mis tant beaucoup de sel.” It’s one or the other, with tant signifying much more.

• Il a mis beaucoup de sel dans la quiche, à tel point que c’était difficile à manger. – He put a lot of salt in the quiche, to the point that it was difficult to eat.

This structure can be used interchangeably with tellement for most nouns, with exactly the same meaning.

• Il a mis tellement de sel dans la quiche qu’elle n’est plus comestible. – He put so much salt in the quiche that it’s no longer edible.

One family of nouns cannot take tant in this construction, so we must use tellement with them. These are the nouns used in various avoir expressions, such as avoir peur, avoir faim, or avoir envie, for example. With these, we also drop the de.

• J’ai tellement soif que ma bouche est toute sèche. – I am so thirsty that my mouth is all dry.

• Ma cousine a tellement envie de voir Taylor Swift qu’elle part à Londres pour son concert. – My cousin wants to see Taylor Swift so much that she’s going to London for her concert.

Tant + adjective + que + subjunctive

This construction triggering the subjunctive is only used when the first clause is in the negative or interrogative. The subjunctive therefore reflects the hypothetical nature of the result.

The easiest English translation of tant… que here is so… that, with so indicating increased intensity of whatever it describes. Other options include to the point that or to such a degree that. In our examples here, we highlight the subjunctive conjugations in italics.

• Ne vous inquiétez pas ! Le train n’est pas tant retardé que vous aillez rater votre correspondence. – Don’t worry! The train isn’t delayed to the point that you’re going to miss your connection.

• Est-ce que la bureaucratie française est vraiment tant compliquée qu’on doive engager un expert ? – Is French bureaucracy really so complicated that we need to hire an expert?

• Je ne suis jamais tant fatigué que je ne puisse pas danser quand j’entends une chanson de Stromae ! – I’m never tired to such a degree that I can’t dance when I hear a Stromae song!

When there are two hypothetical results triggered by the initial statement, both are introduced individually with que + subjunctive.

• Est-ce que son manifesto est tant clair que tu le lises et que tu le comprennes d’un seul coup ? – Is his manifesto so clear that you can read it and that you can understand it in one shot?

We have a couple of other alternatives to this structure, which follow the same rules and have essentially the same meanings. Tellement… que and si… que follow the same format on either side of the adjective, while au point que comes after the adjective

• Les instructions ne sont pas tant détaillées que je les suives vriament à la lettre.
• Les instructions ne sont pas tellement détaillées que je les suives vriament à la lettre.
• Les instructions ne sont pas si détaillées que je les suives vriament à la lettre.
• Les instructions ne sont pas détaillées au point que je les suives vriament à la lettre.
• The instructions aren’t so detailed, to the point that I can really follow them word for word.

Tant et si bien que

Our final French tant expression that links a cause and effect is tant et si bien que. It’s actually built upon the softer conjunction of si bien que, which is used to state the result in a very matter-of-fact way. By combining the two as tant et si bien que, we’re really stating the obvious with insistence.

• Nous sommes partis randonner sans carte ni GPS, tant et si bien que nous nous sommes perdus à plusieurs reprises. – We left hiking with neither a map nor a GPS, so of course we got lost several times.

• Mon frère sautait sur la trampoline sans vider ses poches avant, tant et si bien que son téléphone s’est envolé et s’est cassé. – My brother jumped on the trampoline without emptying his pockets first, so, obviously, his phone flew out and broke.

• Elle n’écoutait jamais en classe, tant et si bien qu’elle échouait l’examen final. – She never listened in class, so much so that she failed the final exam.

Tant to describe timing

Tant que in French can be used to introduce a relation of timing between two clauses. Where both clauses are conjugated in the same tense, tant que denotes simultaneity between the two actions. Another construction sees tant que introducing something that happens prior to the other. Let’s take a look at both structures here.

Tant que for simultaneous actions

An easy tant que translation for this use is as long as. We structure the sentence along the lines of “as long as one thing happens, this other thing happens,” with verbs in both clauses in the same tense. We’re highlighting the verb conjugations in italics in our examples here.

This use may appear somewhat similar to the cause and effect use of tant + adjective + que that we saw earlier, but here we follow tant que with a verb. This structure implies that both verbs’ actions happen simultaneously, without explicitly implying a cause and effect.

• Tant que la piscine est ouverte, les enfants y restent. – As long as the pool is open, the kids are staying there.

• Le risque d’incendies croîtra, tant que la sécheresse durera. – The risk of fires will increase, as long as the drought lasts.

• Tant que les DJ jouaient, je dansais. – For as long as the DJs played, I danced.

A synonym for tant que in this use is aussi longtemps que.

• Je dansais aussi longtemps que les DJ jouaient. – I danced as long as the DJs played.

Tant que for a prior action

In this construction, tant que introduces one verb’s action in the negative, which won’t happen until the other verb’s action happens. This is best explained through examples.

This use of tant que clearly demonstrates a cause and effect relationship. However, its primary trait is related to the order of timing: that one action must happen before the other.

A good English translation of tant que here is still as long as, though if we switch the negative French phrase to affirmative in English we can translate tant que as until.

• Nous resterons au bar tant qu’ils n’annoncent pas l’embarquement de notre vol. – We’ll stay at the bar as long as they haven’t announced boarding for our flight. – We’ll stay at the bar until they announce boarding for our flight.

• Tant que tu n’auras pas répondu à ma question, je ne partirai pas ! – As long as you haven’t answered my question, I won’t leave! – Until you answer my question, I won’t leave!

• Je ne passera pas la nuit chez lui tant qu’il n’aura pas changé ses draps. – I won’t spend the night at his place as long as he hasn’t changed his sheets. – I won’t spend the night at his place until he has changed his sheets.

Aussi longtemps que is also a synonym for this use of tant que in French.

• Aussi longtemps qu’ils n’annoncent pas l’embarquement de notre vol, nous resterons au bar. – As long as they haven’t announced boarding of our flight, we’ll stay at the bar. – Until they announce boarding of our flight, we’ll stay at the bar.

En tant que to describe a role or capacity

Our final French tant construction is different from all the others we’ve seen so far, so we’ll introduce it in its own section.

En tant que

We use en tant que in the main clause of a sentence to introduce someone or something as having a certain role, with the subordinate clause of the sentence describing some result of this role.

We always follow en tant que with a noun. This construction is frequently used to describe people, so the noun can be a profession or some other defining trait.

English equivalents to en tant que include as a, being, in one’s role as, and others along these lines.

• En tant que ville balnéaire, Biarritz attire des vacanciers de partout. – As a coastal city, Biarritz attracts vacationers from all over.

• En tant que premier répondant, je suis en mesure de sauver des vies. – Being a first responder, I’m able to save lives.

• En tant que chanteuse elle est super forte, mais moins en tant qu’actrice. – As a singer she’s really strong, but less so as an actress.

Conclusion: Tant in French

Through all these explanations, do you now know how to use tant in French?

Today’s post provided a deep dive into this versatile French word. We saw each and every French tant use, broken down into several broad categories. Within these categories, we saw the various constructions for each use of tant, explaining the rules and contexts that apply to each one. Il y en avait tant ! – There were so many of them!