c'est la vie

American  

[se la vee] / sɛ la ˈvi /

French.

1. that's life; such is life.

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c'est la vie British  

/ sɛ la vi /

1. that's life

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C'est la vie Cultural  

1. 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.”

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Example Sentences

Guillermo del Toro’s almost realized “The Rise and Fall of Jabba the Hutt” was scrapped, but the filmmaker is saying c’est la vie.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2023

I understand, though, that it would have made the bike pricier, so c’est la vie.

From The Verge • Jan. 2, 2020

There was little other action on the Senate floor as the hours passed, even as the Assembly chugged along with various minor bills and a vague sense of c’est la vie.

From New York Times • Jun. 21, 2018

Beautiful hair came at a price, but I figured a scalp dotted with blisters was mine: c’est la vie.

From The Guardian • Feb. 4, 2017

Car l'amour, c'est la vie, C'est tout ce qu'on regrette et tout ce qu'on envie Quand on voit sa jeunesse au couchant d�cliner.

From The Crown of Life by Gissing, George