Learn Hardcore French: Honnêtement, je ne sais pas si je suis prêt pour une vie de couple marié. - Honestly, I do not know if I am ready for the life of a married couple.

Honnêtement here is an adverb used as a sentence adverb: it comments on the whole sentence, not just on one verb. It’s like saying “Honestly, …” in English.

Position: Putting it at the beginning is very natural and common in French:
- Honnêtement, je ne sais pas…
  You could also say Je ne sais pas, honnêtement, si…, but the version you have is the most typical.
Comma: The comma separates this “comment” from the main clause. It signals a slight pause in speech and shows that Honnêtement is not part of the core grammar of the clause; it’s more about the speaker’s attitude.

You can replace it with other adverbs in the same position, like:

Franchement, je ne sais pas… (Frankly, I don’t know…)
Sincèrement, je ne sais pas… (Sincerely, I don’t know…)

Why do we need both ne and pas in je ne sais pas? Can we say je sais pas?

Standard French negation is two‑part:

ne (or n’ before a vowel sound) + a second word like pas, plus, jamais, etc.
So je ne sais pas = I do not know.

In everyday spoken French, many people drop ne and just say:

Je sais pas
This is very common and natural in speech, but it is informal and usually not written in careful, standard French (books, exams, formal emails, etc.).

So:

Correct standard written French: Je ne sais pas…
Common spoken/informal French: Je sais pas…

Why is it si je suis prêt and not the subjunctive, like si je sois prêt?

After si (meaning if), French almost always uses the indicative, not the subjunctive, when introducing a condition:

si + indicative:
- Je ne sais pas si je suis prêt. = I don’t know if I’m ready.
- Si je suis prêt, je viendrai. = If I’m ready, I’ll come.

The subjunctive sois does exist, but it is used after different conjunctions or verbs:

Il faut que je sois prêt. = I must be ready.
Je doute qu’il soit prêt. = I doubt he is ready.

So with si meaning if/whether, you use the indicative: si je suis, si tu es, etc., not the subjunctive.
“Si je sois prêt” is just wrong in standard French.

Why is it prêt and not prête? How would a woman say this sentence?

Prêt / prête agrees with the person speaking, because it’s an adjective describing je.

A man speaking:
- Je ne sais pas si je suis prêt… (masculine singular)
A woman speaking:
- Je ne sais pas si je suis prête… (feminine singular)

You would also change it in the plural:

Group of men or mixed group: nous sommes prêts
Group of only women: nous sommes prêtes

So your exact sentence would become, from a woman’s mouth:

Honnêtement, je ne sais pas si je suis prête pour une vie de couple marié.

What is the difference between prêt pour and prêt à here? Could we say prêt à une vie de couple marié?

In this sentence:

prêt pour une vie de couple marié = ready for a life as a married couple.
prêt à is usually followed by:
- a verb in the infinitive: prêt à me marier (ready to get married),
- or sometimes a noun when it implies an action: prêt à l’action.

Here, with une vie de couple marié (a “life” noun phrase, not an action verb), pour sounds much more natural:

Correct/natural:
- prêt pour une vie de couple marié
- prêt à me marier (if you want a verb)
Not natural:
- ✗ prêt à une vie de couple marié

So if you want prêt à, you typically change the structure:

Je ne sais pas si je suis prêt à me marier. = I don’t know if I’m ready to get married.

What exactly does une vie de couple mean? How is it different from just “marriage” or “married life”?

Une vie de couple is a common French expression that literally means “a couple’s life”, but the sense is:

living as a couple, sharing daily life, responsibilities, intimacy, routines, etc.

It focuses on the day‑to‑day reality of being in a relationship, more than just the legal status.

Comparisons:

une vie de couple: life lived as two people together (married or not).
une vie de couple marié: that same life, but specifically as a married couple.
le mariage: marriage as an institution or event (the marriage itself, the wedding, the legal status).

So:

Je ne sais pas si je suis prêt pour le mariage.
= I don’t know if I’m ready for marriage (more abstract, the institution/commitment).
Je ne sais pas si je suis prêt pour une vie de couple marié.
= I don’t know if I’m ready for the daily reality of living as a married couple.

Why is it une vie de couple marié and not une vie de couple mariée or mariés? What does marié agree with?

This is about adjective agreement and what the adjective is logically modifying.

In une vie de couple marié, we have:

vie (feminine singular)
couple (masculine singular)
marié (adjective: married)

Here, marié is understood to describe le couple (masculine singular), not la vie. That’s why it is marié (masc. sg.), not mariée (fem. sg.):

un couple marié = a married couple
une vie de couple marié = a life of (a) married couple

Some speakers and writers also say:

une vie de couple mariés

In that case, mariés is understood as referring to the two people in the couple (plural), rather than grammatically to the word couple. Both forms can be heard, but:

une vie de couple marié: strictly grammatical agreement with couple as a singular masculine noun.
une vie de couple mariés: semantic agreement with the two spouses as a plural.

“Une vie de couple mariée” would suggest vie is feminine and being modified, which doesn’t really fit the meaning (it’s not the life that is “married”). So mariée is not used here.

Is there a difference between une vie de couple and une vie en couple?

Both exist and are close in meaning, but there’s a nuance:

une vie de couple
Very common set expression; it emphasises the type of life: the “life as a couple” taken as a concept or state.
une vie en couple
Literally “a life in a couple”; used too, often with the idea of being in a relationship status, possibly contrasting with living alone.

In many contexts they overlap:

être prêt pour une vie de couple
être prêt pour une vie en couple

Both will be understood as “ready to live as a couple”. In your sentence, vie de couple sounds very idiomatic and slightly more “fixed” as an expression.

Could the sentence be phrased in a more informal or more formal way in French?

Yes. Your version is neutral and natural. Here are some variants:

More informal / spoken:

Honnêtement, je sais pas si je suis prêt pour une vie de couple marié.
(dropping the ne, typical spoken French)
Franchement, je sais pas si je suis prêt à me marier.

More formal / careful:

Honnêtement, je ne suis pas certain d’être prêt pour une vie de couple marié.
Je me demande sincèrement si je suis prêt pour une vie de couple marié.

All keep the same basic meaning but change tone and style.

How is the whole sentence pronounced, especially je ne sais pas si je suis?

Approximate phonetic transcription (standard French):

Honnêtement, je ne sais pas si je suis prêt pour une vie de couple marié.
→ /ɔnɛtəmɑ̃ ʒə nə sɛ pa si ʒə sɥi pʁɛ puʁ yn vi də kupl maʁje/

Some points:

Honnêtement: often pronounced something like /ɔnɛt'mɑ̃/; the -ent is not pronounced as “ent”.
je ne sais pas:
- carefully: /ʒə nə sɛ pa/
- in casual speech, ne often disappears: /ʒə sɛ pa/.
si je suis:
- /si ʒə sɥi/
  Keep je = /ʒə/ and suis = /sɥi/ distinct; je suis sounds like “zhuh swee”.
Final t in prêt is silent: /pʁɛ/.
Final p in couple is generally silent: /kupl/.
Final é in marié is /e/, like in café.

Spoken very naturally and a bit fast, you might hear:

Honnêtement, j’sais pas si j’suis prêt pour une vie de couple marié.