peu importer

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pø ɛ̃.pɔʁ.te/

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

peu importer

1. (with subjunctive) to not matter, to matter little, to be unimportant

   Peu importe que tu fasses comme-ci ou comme-ça, ce qui compte c’est le résultat.

   It doesn't matter whether you do this or that, the outcome is what counts.

   Quoi qu’on fasse, peu lui importait.

   Whatever we did mattered little to him.

   • 1950, Édith Piaf (lyrics and music), “Hymne à l'amour”:

     Peu m’importent les problèmes, mon amour, puisque tu m’aimes.

     The problems don't matter to me, my love, since you love me.

Usage notes

• The subject is always in the third person. If the subject is il, it is omitted; otherwise, it follows the verb.
• peu importer (e.g. peu m'importe) is more common than the synonymous, and normally expected, importer peu (e.g. il m'importe peu), the latter having formal overtones.

Derived terms

• peu importe (“no matter”)