n'est-ce pas

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French n’est-ce pas ? (“isn't it?”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /nɛsˈpa/, /nɛsˈpɑː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː

Phrase

n'est-ce pas

1. (chiefly humorous) Used to form tag questions.
   • 1935, Thomas Wolfe, Of Time and the River, page 763:

     I know him well, we artists have the common touch, n'est-ce pas?

   • 2003, Richard Pevear, Larissa Volokhonsky, The Adolescent, translation of original by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, published 1875, page 527:

     It is just a little quarrel of two most worthy women, n'est-ce pas

Anagrams

• netspaces

French

Etymology

Literally, “is it not?”.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n‿ɛs pa/ ~ /n‿ɛs pɑ/

Phrase

n’est-ce pas

1. Used as an expression of affirmation after a statement, often translated into English as a tag question.

   Bizarre, n’est-ce pas ? ― Strange, isn't it?

Further reading

• “n'est-ce pas”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.