C’est la vie and a gallic shrug

This fun phrase is often combined with shrugging shoulders and gazing off to the side. In English we say “It is what it is”, but c’est la vie certainly has more panache (or, flamboyance). For us who are passionate about language, and of course, French in particular, this could be one of the first phrases picked up when learning French.

The English language found the phrase so exciting that it was borrowed into English in the 1880s.

C’est la vie earned its popularity to such an extent that there was even a song written with the same phrase as the title. The song “Sing c’est la vie” by Sonny & Cher flowed from radios in 1965 and some decades later, Stereophonics also released a song called “C’est la vie”.

Those two examples from popular culture goes to show just what an impact c’est la vie had on English speakers.

Funnily enough, I don’t hear many French people saying this. Instead, the phrase “c’est comme ça” rings out now and then. Combined in a longer sentence it goes even better with the so-called Gallic shrug and a tired smile, “c’est comme ça, qu’est-ce qu’on peut faire”. Well, it’s like that, what can one do? Indeed, with that mouthful, a shrug seems the best thing to do.

But then again, maybe it is more common among fluent English speakers who want to sound cultured and worldly. Regardless, it is a phrase that emboldens many people to at least try a few French words here and there. And that, for anyone wanting to learn French, c’est plutôt bien.