c'est la vie
[ se la vee ]
/ sɛ la ˈvi /
WATCH NOW: How Do You Use "C'est La Vie" In A Sentence?
WATCH NOW: How Do You Use "C'est La Vie" In A Sentence?
In French, "c'est la vie" means "that's life." And, we English speakers borrowed it into English in the 1880s as an idiom to express acceptance or resignation, much like "oh well." But, how do you use it in a sentence?
MORE VIDEOS FROM DICTIONARY.COMFrench.
that's life; such is life.
Words nearby c'est la vie
c terminus, c&i, c&sc, c'est autre chose, c'est la guerre, c'est la vie, c'est-à-dire, c'mon, c++, c, c, c-
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
British Dictionary definitions for c'est la vie
c'est la vie
/ French (sɛ la vi) /
that's life
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for c'est la vie
C'est la vie
[ (say lah vee) ]
An expression used to play down some minor disappointment: “So we lost a softball game by twenty-two runs. What can you do; c'est la vie.” From French, meaning “that's life.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
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