C’est la vie !
That’s life!
Ask 10 people if they know any French phrases, and probably 9 of them will say c’est la vie. Funnily enough, this fatalistic expression is used far more in English than in its native French, though the meaning is the same in both: c’est la vie (pronounced “say la vee”) acknowledges a less-than-ideal situation even as it accepts it.
Par exemple…
J’ai vu Peter Mayle mais je n’avais pas le courage de demander son autographe. C’est la vie !
I saw Peter Mayle but didn’t have the courage to ask for his autograph. That’s life!
Misspellings
- say la vie, say la vee
- se la vie, se la vee
- cie la vie, cie la vee
Variation: C’est la guerre — That’s war (for you), Such is war
English variation: C’est la vie, c’est la guerre, c’est la pomme de terre — literally, “That’s life, that’s war, that’s the potato” (French speakers have no idea about this one)
English equivalents: stuff happens, (vulgar slang) s*** happens
Other uses: In French, c’est la vie isn’t always a fatalistic expression. It can also be used to talk about a necessity of life or a way of life.
Le pain, c’est la vie. — Bread is life.
C’est la vie conjugale. — That’s married life (for you).
Simplicité, c’est la vie de moine. — Simplicity is the life of a monk.
Related expression: C’est la vie de château (pourvu que ça dure) — The good life, This is the life, Live it up (while you can)
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Originally published at www.lawlessfrench.com on June 12, 2014.
