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French Motto
| Meaning | broken but not beaten | |
| Literally | wave-tossed but not sunken | |
| Register | normal | |
| Pronunciation |  |
[fluk twaht nehk mehr gee tur] |
| IPA | [flyk tɥat nɛk mɛʀ gi tyʀ] | |
Usage notes: The Latin phrase Fluctuat nec mergitur has been a motto of the city of Paris since at least 1580, and the official motto since 1853.* In French, it may be translated as Elle est agitée par les vagues / battue par les flots, mais ne sombre pas: Paris may be tossed by the waves, but she will never sink; she is indestructible.
Fluctuat nec mergitur feels particularly poignant after national tragedy. It’s used as a rallying cry for rebuilding and recovering and typically trends on social media.
- April 2019 Notre Dame fire (news video)
- Notre Dame de Paris, by Victor Hugo
Related lessons
- Patriotic French expressions
- More Latin in French: a priori
* Source: Les devises des villes de France, by Henri Tausin
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