Tabla de Contenidos
Along with Oh la la, the word voilà is one of the most iconic in the French language. Its use is varied and always depends on the context in which it is inserted.
Voilà as an adverb
The word voilà is primarily an adverb denoting location. It is used to indicate or present an object or person that is close to the interlocutor, as we would use “here” in Spanish. For example:
- Voila month friends. “Here are my friends.”
- Voilà l’argent que je te devais. “Here’s the money I owed you.”
It is also used as the opposite of voici to highlight the difference in distance between one object and another. Voici would be used for the closest object and voilà for the farthest one.
Voici mon lit et voilà le votre. “Here is my bed and there is yours.”
Voilà for conclusions
Another very frequent use of voilà is to introduce a conclusion or confirmation of some event. In this case, it is also usually accompanied by the conjunction et . For example, a person who has said that he was hard at painting a picture, can present it and comment “ et voilà ”. It is understood that the painting is the conclusion of something that had previously been explained.
A possible translation of voilà in this context is “there it is.”
Voilà to express agreement
In this case, the use of the word voilà implies that the same conclusion has been reached as the interlocutor and that therefore they agree.
– This is a terrible opportunity .
– Voila .
This would translate to:
– “It is a wonderful opportunity”
– “Indeed”.
temporary voila
We can also use this expression to refer to a point in the past or duration of an event in the past.
Voila deux semaines que je suis là. “I’ve been there for two weeks.”
References
- The Hexagon. (2019). Difference between voici and voilà . Available at: https://elhexagono.net/2019/12/05/diferencia-entre-voici-y-voila/
- Duolingo (S/f). voilà . Available at: https://es.duolingo.com/dictionary/French/voil%C3%A0/5547eedc459a3000465b360873cf45c3
- Voilangue (2015). The meanings of voilà . Available at: https://voilangue.com/los-significados-de-voila/
