Use of ça y est

Sid J.C1Kwiziq community member

Use of ça y est

I've been taught this phrase in another course but never really understood its use -  ça y est. It was presented to me as one of those catchall phrases for "yes, that's right!", "yeah, that's it" as a somewhat utterance one makes to ones self (or to others) that you've been suddenly successful at something or an acknowledgment that you're at least on the right track. So I used this here instead of "c'est ça". Did I use it correctly? I actually had "c'est ça" first but then I changed it to see if I had actually finally found a way to use "ça y est" correctly.

(By the way, why can't I use the hold down the keyboard trick to apply accents, etc in this Q & A box? I have to admit it prevents me oftentimes from asking questions since I can't be precise.)

Asked 9 months ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Sid, 

Good question!

You couldn't use 'ça y est' in that sentence because it has a different meaning. In that sentence, it merely says 'you have guessed/remembered right'.

Although it is often translated as 'that's it' in English, I like the translations from this website page -

https://fr.bab.la/dictionnaire/francais-anglais/%C3%A7a-y-est

You will often use 'ça y est' when you have achieved or finally finished something.

Take a look at this page from Laura which has lots of examples -

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/expressions/ca-y-est/

Hope this help!

Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Sid, 

the ‘ hold down the button ‘ works on iPad. Probably best to raise with support directly if not available on your device/operating system.

Use of ça y est

I've been taught this phrase in another course but never really understood its use -  ça y est. It was presented to me as one of those catchall phrases for "yes, that's right!", "yeah, that's it" as a somewhat utterance one makes to ones self (or to others) that you've been suddenly successful at something or an acknowledgment that you're at least on the right track. So I used this here instead of "c'est ça". Did I use it correctly? I actually had "c'est ça" first but then I changed it to see if I had actually finally found a way to use "ça y est" correctly.

(By the way, why can't I use the hold down the keyboard trick to apply accents, etc in this Q & A box? I have to admit it prevents me oftentimes from asking questions since I can't be precise.)

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