French Expression “Ça tombe bien” (+ bien tomber)

You use "Ça tombe bien" to express that something happens just at the right time. It means it's a happy coincidence, it's good timing.

Literally, the phrase translates to "it falls right" (i.e. it comes at the right time).

"On va déjeuner ?"
"Oui, ça tombe bien, j'avais rien de prévu."

Do you want to go have lunch ?
That works out well, I had nothing planned.

"Elle vient d'arriver à l'instant."
"Ah bah ça tombe bien, je dois lui parler."

She just arrived right now.
Good timing, I need to talk to her.

In everyday spoken French, you frequently prefix the phrase with "ah bah":

"J'ai fait des sandwiches."
"Ah bah ça tombe bien, je meurs de faim!"

I made some sandwiches.
That's perfect, I'm starving!

"Je peux te déposer chez toi."
"Ah merci, ça tombe bien, ma voiture est chez le garagiste."

I can give you a ride home.
That's great, my car is at the mechanic's.

"Voilà, je te rends tes 20€."
"Ah ça tombe bien, je n'ai pas d'argent."

I'm giving you back your 20€.
Great timing, I'm out of money.

"Ça tombe bien que tu sois là."

It's fortunate (it's good timing) that you're here.

Bien tomber

In addition to "Ça tombe bien", you can use "bien tomber" for a person. It's most commonly used in second person:

"Tu tombes bien, justement je te cherchais."

Perfect timing, I was just looking for you.

"Ah vous tombez bien, vous n'auriez pas vu mon sac?"

Oh, perfect timing, you wouldn't have seen my bag, would you?

In some situations, "bien tomber" can also be used at third person:

"EIle tombe bien, il nous manquait justement quelqu'un."

She's arriving at just the right time, we were missing someone.

When used in the past tense, "bien tomber" is often used to means to get lucky:

"Elle est bien tombée, elle a parlé au directeur lui-même!"

She got lucky, she spoke to the director himself!

Alternatives to "Ça tombe bien"

Justement

While "Justement" is a very versatile word that can be used for many things, in some situations, it is used as a substitute for (or along with) "bien tomber":

"Tu veux aller déjeuner ?"
"Oui justement, j'avais rien de prévu."

In this context, "justement" also means perfect timing - that something happens at the right time (same as "ça tombe bien").

You may even use both in the same sentence:

"Justement, ça tombe bien, j'avais rien de prévu."

"Elle vient d'arriver à l'instant."
"Justement, il faut que je lui parle."

Ça tombe à pic

This is a variant of "Ça tombe bien", they can be used interchangeably:

"J'ai trouvé 10 euros par terre. Ça tombe à pic / ça tombe bien, je n'avais plus rien

I found 10 euros on the ground. That's perfect timing, I had nothing left.

Like "ça tombe bien", you can use it for a person as a subject:

"Ah tu tombes à pic, justement je te cherchais."

Oh, you came at the perfect time, I was just looking for you.

Ça ne pouvait pas mieux tomber

This is another variant of "Ça tombe bien", it means "It couldn't have come at a better time":

"Il y a des billets gratuits pour le concert ce soir."
"Ça ne pouvait pas mieux tomber, je voulais vraiment y aller !"

There's free tickets for the concert tonight.
It couldn't have come at a better time, I really wanted to go!

Other "loose" alternatives

You can also say "C'est parfait" (it's perfect) or "C'est une bonne chose" (it's a good thing) to express good timing, even though these have a broarder meaning:

"Elle vient d'arriver."
"Ah c'est parfait, il faut que je lui parle."

Here, c'est parfait has the same meaning as "Ça tombe bien".