vie/vi/
noun · A1 · Frequency 150
nounfeminine
Meanings
life, the state of living organisms or lifeforms
Refers to the state of living organisms or lifeforms.
lifespan; lifetime
Refers to the time span from birth to death of an individual.
biography, the life story of a person
Refers to a biography describing a person's life story.
Examples
La vie existe sous des formes très diverses sur Terre.
Life exists in very diverse forms on Earth.
Après sa retraite, il a consacré sa vie à voyager.
After retiring, he devoted his life to traveling.
Cette biographie raconte la vie d'une scientifique remarquable.
This biography tells the life story of a remarkable female scientist.
Dans cette ville, le coût de la vie augmente rapidement.
In this city, the cost of living is rising rapidly.
Collocations
- donner la vieto give life
- fin de vieend of life
- coût de la viecost of living
Common mistakes
Il a perdu sa vie.
Il est mort.
'Perdre sa vie' literally means 'to lose one's life' and implies sacrifice (e.g., for a cause); it is not used for ordinary death — say 'il est mort' or 'il a succombé' instead.
Elle a vécu une vie de 85 ans.
Elle a vécu 85 ans.
To express lifespan numerically, French uses 'vivre + duration' (e.g., 'vivre 85 ans'); the phrase 'une vie de X ans' is ungrammatical and never used for this meaning.
Related words
synonymexistenceexistence, living
synonymdurée de vielifespan
synonymbiographiebiography
nounfeminine
Meanings
life, existence
Refers to the state of being alive or a person's experience of living.
Examples
La vie quotidienne devient plus simple grâce à cette application.
Daily life becomes easier thanks to this application.
Il faut profiter de la vie malgré les difficultés.
We should enjoy life despite the difficulties.
Cette décision a profondément changé sa vie.
This decision profoundly changed his life.
Collocations
- vie quotidiennedaily life
Related words
synonymexistenceexistence, living
synonymrouteroad, route
nounfeminine
Meanings
life, the state of living organisms or lifeforms
Refers to the state of living organisms or lifeforms.
lifespan; lifetime
Refers to the time span from birth to death of an individual.
biography, the life story of a person
Refers to a biography describing a person's life story.
Examples
Certaines vies marines dépendent entièrement de la température de l'eau.
Some marine life depends entirely on water temperature.
Les vies de ces ampoules sont plus longues que celles des modèles précédents.
The lifetimes of these bulbs are longer than those of the previous models.
La bibliothèque publie des vies de scientifiques accessibles au grand public.
The library publishes biographies of scientists for the general public.
nounfeminine
Meanings
life, existence
Refers to the state of being alive or a person's experience of living.
Examples
Certaines vies changent complètement après une rencontre inattendue.
Some lives change completely after an unexpected encounter.
Le roman raconte des vies bouleversées par la guerre.
The novel tells the stories of lives upended by war.
Ces vies dépendent souvent de décisions prises bien avant leur naissance.
These lives often depend on decisions made long before their birth.