Ce travail est bien payé.

This job is well paid.

Breakdown of Ce travail est bien payé.

• être: to be
• ce: this
• le travail: the job
• bien: well
• payé: paid

Questions & Answers about Ce travail est bien payé.

Why is it ce travail and not cette travail?

Because travail is a masculine noun in French.

Demonstrative adjectives agree with the gender and number of the noun:

• ce = this / that (masculine singular, before a consonant)
• cet = this / that (masculine singular, before a vowel or silent h)
• cette = this / that (feminine singular)
• ces = these / those (plural, both genders)

Since travail is masculine and starts with a consonant sound, you must say:

• ce travail = this job / this work

You would only use cette with a feminine noun, e.g.:

• cette tâche (this task)
• cette mission (this mission)

Does travail mean “job” or “work”? How is it used here?

Travail can mean both, depending on context:

1. A job / a position

   • Ce travail est bien payé.
     → Most naturally: “This job is well paid.”
   • Il a trouvé un travail. = He found a job.

2. Work in general / the work you do

   • Le travail est difficile. = Work is hard / The work is hard.

In your sentence, Ce travail est bien payé, a native speaker will usually understand it as:

• the specific job or kind of work being discussed, not “work” in the abstract.

Could I also say Ce boulot est bien payé or Cet emploi est bien payé?

Yes, both are possible, but the tone changes:

• Ce travail est bien payé.
  Neutral, standard. Could mean a job or a specific kind of work.

• Ce boulot est bien payé.
  Informal / colloquial.
  Boulot ≈ “job” / “gig.” You’d use this in casual speech.

• Cet emploi est bien payé.
  More specifically “this position / post is well paid.”
  Slightly more formal or specific than travail.

All three are grammatically correct; you just choose based on register (formal vs informal) and what exactly you want to highlight (a post, a job, a type of work, etc.).

Why is it bien payé and not bien payée with an extra e?

Because payé agrees with travail, which is masculine singular.

Here, payé is a past participle used as an adjective meaning “paid.” Like all adjectives, it must agree with the noun it describes:

• Ce travail est bien payé.
  
  • travail = masculine singular
  • → payé = masculine singular (no extra e, no s)

If the noun were feminine or plural, the ending would change:

• Cette tâche est bien payée. (feminine singular → payée)
• Ces travaux sont bien payés. (masculine plural → payés)
• Ces tâches sont bien payées. (feminine plural → payées)

Is bien payé a verb form or an adjective here?

Here it’s functioning as an adjective, not as part of a compound tense.

• Structure: [subject] + être + adjective
  → Ce travail est bien payé.

You’re describing a quality of the job (it is well paid), just like:

• Ce travail est fatigant. = This job is tiring.
• Ce travail est intéressant. = This job is interesting.

So payé behaves like any ordinary adjective here, agreeing with travail in gender and number.

Why is it bien payé and not bon payé?

Because in French, with past participles like payé, you use bien, not bon, to mean “well (paid).”

• bien = “well” (adverb) and sometimes part of fixed expressions
• bon / bonne = “good” (adjective)

In this context, English says “well paid,” and French matches that structure:

• ✅ bien payé = well paid
• ❌ bon payé (wrong; not idiomatic)

Other similar expressions:

• bien fait = well made
• bien écrit = well written
• bien connu = well known

Why is the word order est bien payé and not est payé bien?

In French, adverbs like bien usually come before the past participle in this sort of structure:

• est bien payé = is well paid
• a bien compris = has understood well
• est bien connu = is well known

Placing bien after payé (est payé bien) sounds non‑native and is essentially incorrect in standard French in this context.

So the natural pattern is:

• être + bien + past participle
  → est bien payé

Can I say Ce travail paye bien or Ce travail paie bien instead? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can, and both spellings (paye and paie) are accepted.

• Ce travail paie bien. / Ce travail paye bien.
  Literally: “This job pays well.”

Differences in feel:

• Ce travail est bien payé.
  Focus on the job as something that is well paid; more descriptive, a bit more neutral/formal.

• Ce travail paie / paye bien.
  Focus on the job paying well (bringing good money); slightly more dynamic or conversational.

Both are correct and common; the choice is mainly stylistic.

How would I say “very well paid”, “better paid”, and “the best paid” in French?

You build on bien payé:

• very well paid

  • très bien payé
  • Ce travail est très bien payé.

• better paid (comparative)

  • mieux payé
  • Ce travail est mieux payé que l’autre.
    = This job is better paid than the other one.

• the best paid (superlative)

  • le mieux payé (masculine singular)
  • la mieux payée (feminine singular)
  • les mieux payés / payées (plural)
  • C’est le travail le mieux payé de l’entreprise.
    = It’s the best‑paid job in the company.

How do you pronounce Ce travail est bien payé? Are there any liaisons?

Approximate IPA:

• Ce travail est bien payé → /sə tʁavaj ɛ bjɛ̃ pe.je/

Key points:

• travail → /tʁa.vaj/

  • The final l is not pronounced; it ends in a /j/ (like English y in eye).

• est bien → there is a liaison:

  • You pronounce the t in est: /ɛt bjɛ̃/ (sounds like “eh tbyen”).

• payé → /pe.je/

  • Two syllables: pa‑yé; the final é is pronounced /e/.

So you actually say something close to:

• [sə tʁa-vaj ɛt bjɛ̃ pe-je]

How would I make this sentence negative, or turn it into a question?

Negative:

• Ce travail n’est pas bien payé.
  = This job is not well paid.

Structure: ne / n’ + être + pas + bien payé

Yes–no questions:

1. Est-ce que question (very common):

   • Est-ce que ce travail est bien payé ?
     = Is this job well paid?

2. Inversion (more formal or written):

   • Ce travail est-il bien payé ?

3. Rising intonation (speech):

   • Ce travail est bien payé ? (same word order as a statement, just spoken with rising intonation)

Can I say Le travail est bien payé instead of Ce travail est bien payé?

You can, but the meaning shifts slightly:

• Ce travail est bien payé.
  → “This job / this particular work is well paid.”
  You’re pointing to a specific job or type of work.

• Le travail est bien payé.
  → More like “The work is well paid” or even “Work is well paid (in general)” depending on context.
  It can feel more generic or already-known: you’re talking about the work previously identified, not necessarily indicating “this one here.”

So use ce travail when you want to emphasize this specific job / kind of work.

How would this sentence change with a feminine or plural noun?

The adjective payé must agree with the noun in gender and number:

• Masculine singular

  • Ce travail est bien payé.

• Feminine singular

  • Cette tâche est bien payée.
  • Cette mission est bien payée.

• Masculine plural

  • Ces travaux sont bien payés.
    (Note: travaux is the plural of travail in many senses, especially “works,” “construction works,” or “pieces of work.”)

• Feminine plural

  • Ces tâches sont bien payées.

Pattern:

• masc. sg. payé
• fem. sg. payée
• masc. pl. payés
• fem. pl. payées

Are there more formal or more technical ways to say bien payé?

Yes. Common alternatives include:

• bien rémunéré(e)

  • Ce travail est bien rémunéré.
    Slightly more formal/technical; used a lot in HR, contracts, reports.

• avantageux / avantageuse

  • Ce poste est très avantageux.
    = This position is very advantageous (implies good pay or benefits).

• un bon salaire (using a noun instead of bien payé)

  • Ce travail offre un bon salaire. = This job offers a good salary.
  • Le salaire est bon. = The salary is good.

All of these can describe the same idea as Ce travail est bien payé, just with different nuances in formality and focus.