Dictionary / I'm confused
How to Say "I'm confused" in French
Je ne comprends pas
/ʒə nə kɔ̃pʁɑ̃ pa/
Literally: I do not understand
Je
I
ne… pas
not
comprends
understand
Good to know
Je suis perdu(e) (I'm lost) is the closest thing to I'm confused when you have lost the thread of something rather than failed to understand a single sentence. In speech the ne usually disappears: je comprends pas.
Correct
Je ne comprends pas
What people say wrong
Je suis confus
I'm ashamed / mortified
The mistake to avoid. Confus is about embarrassment, not bewilderment. Je suis confus means I'm mortified, I'm ashamed. For genuine confusion use je ne comprends pas or je suis perdu(e).
In context
Je ne comprends pas, tu peux répéter ?
I don't understand, could you say that again?
Je suis perdu, on en était où ?
I'm lost, where were we?
Désolé, je n'ai pas bien compris.
Sorry, I didn't quite follow.