C’est la vie de château, pourvu que ça dure – That’s life, as long as it lasts. This expression originated from a relatively popular French song called “C’est la vie d’château avec toi”, which translates to“being with you is like living a life of luxury”. Nous ne pouvons pas vous offrir plus que le SMIC. C’est ainsi. – We can’t offer you more than minimum wage. That’s the way it goes. Based on these literal meanings, c’est la vie can be translated into English as that’s life or such is life.

Meaning: When posed as a question, que voulez-vous means “what do you want?” But when used as an exclamation or mid-sentence it means “what can I do?” or “such is life.” English: célèbre et gagner beaucoup d’argent, c’est la vie de supermodel– Being famous and making lots of money, that’s supermodel life (that’s a supermodel’s life) Olivier and Deborah Megret own and operate C’est la Vie to exceptionally high standards. Oliver is a trained chef as well as captain, and grew up in Burgundy where his parents owned a restaurant (other members of the Megret family also combine cuisine with boating hospitality). Deborah brings her own professional experience to the mix, providing the highly successful combination that makes C’est la Vie one of the top hotel barges in France.For example, in the United States it’s common for grocery stores and drug stores to be open 24/7, but in France that is not the case. Most grocery stores and pharmacies in France close around 8 or 9pm. And some pharmacies will even close during lunchtime. A well-known French idiom, “ C’est la vie” pronounced as “say-la-vee”) is one of the most often used French expressions throughout the world. Ici vient la partie de la vie parisienne que la plupart des citoyens détestent. Les transports en commun, le métro parisien, le bus, le RER, le tram… l’expression « métro-boulot-dodo » est très connue de la vie parisienne car les gens ont l’impression de prendre le métro, d’aller au boulot, et de rentrer pour faire dodo. Et puis c’est tout.

In this way, C’est la vie really might be the appropriate overall French response to tragedy, whether you think the phrase is about feeling like this is how it is and there’s nothing we can do, or saying “This is how it is, now let’s move on and not let bad things stop us from living.” Categories French Culture So now if someone asks you what does c’est la vie mean, you know its literal translation. But when we think about a good c’est la vie meaning in English, isn’t it usually used figuratively anyway? Let’s take a look.Prendre la voiture? Oui, c’est une option! Mais ce n’est pas mieux car aux heures de pointes c’est très souvent bouché sur la route.

Le bébé a encore vomi sur ma tenue. Être mère, c’est comme ça. – The baby spit up on my outfit again. Being a mother, that’s how it goes. But if you’re looking for a few other c’est la vie alternatives, here are some great ones in both French and English: French:Note that although we’ve included question marks on all these expressions, they’re really just there to encourage the right intonation when saying each phrase. In reality, each version of que veux-tu is really just a rhetorical question expressed as a statement of resignation.