C'est la vie - Lawless French Expression

Fatalistic French Expression


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Meaning	That’s life, Such is life
Register	normal
Pronunciation		[say lah vee]
IPA		[se la vi]

Usage notes: 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 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 or a way of life.

Par exemple…

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.