Aide Memoire Meilleur, Mieux, Bon, Bien

Meilleur/mieux, and bon/bien are frequently found on the exam and will display a B level of speaking when used correctly on the oral exam.  The best way to learn these is to practice speaking and reading.  This is especially important as direct translation doesn’t always work.  Also look for patterns in the questions we provide as these will help you understand the difference.

Knowing these will garner 1-2 points on the grammar exam while helping to give your listener confidence about your ability to speak French.

Bon and Bien

Let’s start with bon and bien.  Most often on the exam, bon means “good” and bien “well”.  We will explain these using examples.  While there are other examples of this usage, we will limit it to what you need to know for the exams.

As an Adjective

When bon is used as an adjective (a word that describes a thing) it means “good”.  Example:

C’est un bon prix./That’s a good price. (Note:  C’est+un makes the t be pronounced—a good trick on the oral exam to impress the evaluator).  In this example, the price is described as being a good price.

When bien is used as an adjective, it means good but in an abstract sense which relates to a state of being, attractiveness, satisfying, or of good moral sense.  Example:  La nouvelle maison est très bien./ The new house is good—as in the new house is attractive.

Formula

Bon + noun

As an Adverb

Bien means “well” and is typically tied to a verb.  La télévision ne fonctionne pas bien./ The television doesn’t work well.  Note in this example how functionne is tied to bien and bien means well.  This is rare with bon so probably won’t be a test question.

Formula

Bien + noun

With Expressions and Nouns

Bon and bien are used in expressions and as part of things.  Examples include: Bien-être (m), bien que (although) followed by a subjective verb, un bon du Trésor/treasury note or treasury bond.  Usually, bon in these cases means some kind of delivery slip, bond, or coupon.  These will come naturally as you practice the questions on this site, speak, and read in French.

Meilleur, Mieux

Meilleur means “better”.  It is matched with the gender and singularity or plurality of what it is describing (e.g., Meilleur, meilleure, meilleurs, meilleures) which can be a trick on the exam.

Meilleur(e)(s) describes something acting as an adjective.  Example :  C’est un meilleur endroit à visiter./ It is a better place to visit.  How can we describe l’endroit?  It is meilleur.

Here is the formula:

Un/une + Meilleur + noun

Le meilleur means “the best”.  Just like you can’t say “the goodest/le plus bon,” in English, you can’t say it in French either.  It becomes le/la/les meilleur(e)(s) to mean “the best”.

Meilleur describes a noun (thing).

Mieux, on the other hand, is often seen in expressions and is tied to a verb.  Example: il vaut mieux/it would be better.  Or, C’est mieux de + verb/It is better to…+verb

Mieux doesn’t change to match gender or plurality because it isn’t an adjective (describing a thing).

Here is the formula

Mieux + verb

C’est mieux de + verb

Caution…

There may be some kind of small word (object pronouns or adverbs) before the verb such as lui, le, tout, just as there would be with verb conjugations. The le or la here is not a masculine or feminine “the” but rather an it, he, or she replacement (an object pronoun).

Table Summary

For additional information see this video: https://www.simplyfrenchonline.com/blog/how-and-when-to-choose-meilleur-and-mieux