Yesterday was Bastille Day in France. It's their national holiday and is celebrated with parades, fireworks, dances, and more. In honor of one of my favorite special days, I thought that this morning we'd take a look at the French word voilà. Most humans have used the word at least once in their lives, but how many of you really know what it means? And the funny little mark over the "a" is called a grave (pronounced grav) and it is necessary to include.
To begin with, voilà is a contraction of the French phrase vois là which literally means "see there." It has numerous and varied uses. Here are some of the top ones.
Voilà can mean here/there., i.e. Voilà la voiture que je veux acheter. There is the car I want to buy. Or, it can mean Me voilà! (Here I am!) Experts say, "Technically, voilà only refers to things that are farther away (there is/are), while voici is used for close things (here is/are), but in reality voilà tends to be used for all of the above, except when a distinction between two objects is required."
But it can also mean this or that. Voilà où il habite maintenant. This is where he lives now. Or, Voilà ce qu'ils m'ont dit. That's what they told me.
More commonly, however, at least in English, voilà usually stands in for "okay" or "that's it" or even, "that's it exactly." And et voilà is often used with children after you've warned them about something and they go ahead and do it anyway. Example, "Now you've done it" or "I warned you" and "You should have listened to me."
The most common way English-speaking people use voilà, and the way this frog uses it all the time, is in place of "Ta-da!" Personally, I use the word most often when I'm excited about finishing up a project that's taken a long time to complete. Some of my longer blogs, for instance. Ta-da! or should I say, Voilà!
Vwala is an Americanized version of the French word voilà. So is wala. Neither of them is even close! So please use the correct voilà and make the French (and me) very happy.
That does it for me today. I hope you found this little French lesson valuable. Please stop back by tomorrow for a look at a few common everyday phrases and their surprise origins. Until then, I wish you PEACE.
To begin with, voilà is a contraction of the French phrase vois là which literally means "see there." It has numerous and varied uses. Here are some of the top ones.
Voilà can mean here/there., i.e. Voilà la voiture que je veux acheter. There is the car I want to buy. Or, it can mean Me voilà! (Here I am!) Experts say, "Technically, voilà only refers to things that are farther away (there is/are), while voici is used for close things (here is/are), but in reality voilà tends to be used for all of the above, except when a distinction between two objects is required."
But it can also mean this or that. Voilà où il habite maintenant. This is where he lives now. Or, Voilà ce qu'ils m'ont dit. That's what they told me.
More commonly, however, at least in English, voilà usually stands in for "okay" or "that's it" or even, "that's it exactly." And et voilà is often used with children after you've warned them about something and they go ahead and do it anyway. Example, "Now you've done it" or "I warned you" and "You should have listened to me."
The most common way English-speaking people use voilà, and the way this frog uses it all the time, is in place of "Ta-da!" Personally, I use the word most often when I'm excited about finishing up a project that's taken a long time to complete. Some of my longer blogs, for instance. Ta-da! or should I say, Voilà!
Vwala is an Americanized version of the French word voilà. So is wala. Neither of them is even close! So please use the correct voilà and make the French (and me) very happy.
That does it for me today. I hope you found this little French lesson valuable. Please stop back by tomorrow for a look at a few common everyday phrases and their surprise origins. Until then, I wish you PEACE.
ThoughtCo. "The French Expression "Voilà"." ThoughtCo, Jan. 23, 2019, thoughtco.com/voila-vocabulary-1371436.
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