All about Comme

The French word comme can be a conjunction, adverb, or part of an adverbial phrase and is one of the most common French words.


Comme as a conjunction

Comme is a French subordinating conjunction meaning "as" or "since":

   Il est arrivé comme je commençais à manger
   He arrived as I was starting to eat

   Comme il n'est pas là, je vais le faire
   Since he's not here, I'm going to do it

Comme is commonly used in comparisons to mean "like" or "as":

   Pensent-ils comme nous ?
   Do they think like/as we do?

   C'est une excuse comme une autre
   It's as good an excuse as any


Comme as an exclamative adverb

As an exclamative adverb, comme means "how" or "so":

   Comme tu es grand !
   You're so tall!

   Comme il fait beau !
   How beautiful the weather is!


Comme + adjective

Comme plus an adjective means that something/someone seems to be that adjective:

   Il était comme fou
   He was acting crazy

   Elle est comme désorientée
   She seems bewildered


Comme tout

Comme tout plus an adjective means "so (adjective)" or "as (adjective) as can be":

   C'est facile comme tout
   It's as easy as can be

   Il est sympa comme tout
   He's so nice


Comme si

Comme si means "as if" or "as though":

   Il m'a parlé comme si rien ne s'était passé
   He talked to me as if nothing had happened

   Ce n'est pas comme si je suis riche !
   It's not as though I'm rich!


Expressions with Comme

Comme is found in a number of common French expressions:

   comme cela/ça
      (just) like that, that way; (informal) great, terrific

   comme ci, comme ça
      so-so, fair

   comme il faut
      properly

   comme il vous plaira
      as you wish

   comme les autres
      ordinary, everyday

   comme on dit
      as they say

   comme par hasard
      coincidentally

   comme qui dirait
      (informal) as you might say, what you might think is/was

   comme quoi
      to the effect that, which goes to show that

   comme tout le monde
      normally, like everyone else

   juste comme
      just/right as