| Principal Translations/Principales traductions |
| life | n | (lifetime) | vie nf |
| He led an interesting life. |
| Il a mené une vie intéressante. |
| life | n | invariable (organisms) | vie nf inv |
| Scientists were surprised to discover life at the bottom of the sea. |
| Les scientifiques ont été surpris de découvrir de la vie dans les profondeurs de la mer. |
| life | n | invariable (existence) existence | vie nf inv |
| | | vie nf |
| Is there life on mars? |
| What do you think is the meaning of life? |
| Y a-t-il une vie sur Mars ? |
| D'après vous, quel est le sens de la vie ? |
| life | n | (useful duration) durée utile | durée de vie nf |
| Bread only has a shelf life of a few days. |
| Cette batterie est censée avoir une durée de vie de 20 heures. |
| life | n | invariable (animating spirit) | vie nf |
| | | énergie nf |
| The children are so full of life. |
| Les enfants sont tellement pleins de vie. |
| Les enfants ont tellement d'énergie. |
| |
| Additional Translations/Traductions supplémentaires |
| life | adj | (lifelong) pour la vie | à vie adj inv |
| | | à vie adj inv |
| He bought a life membership to the club. |
| He has life membership of that club. |
| Il s'est payé son affiliation à vie à ce club. |
| Il est membre à vie de ce club. |
| life | n | (a human being) être humain | vie nf |
| | | perdre la vie vi |
| Twenty lives were lost in the bombing. |
| Vingt vies ont été fauchées dans le bombardement. |
| Vingt personnes ont perdu la vie dans le bombardement. |
| life | n | (biography) livres | vie nf |
| | | biographie nf |
| The academic wrote an excellent life of Shakespeare. |
| L'universitaire a écrit un excellent livre sur la vie de Shakespeare. |
| L'universitaire a écrit une excellente biographie de Shakespeare. |
| life | n | (animation) animation | vie nf |
| That actress really gives life to the role. |
| Cette actrice donne vraiment de la vie à ce rôle. |
| life | n | invariable (imprisonment) emprisonnement | vie nf inv |
| The judge sentenced him to life in prison. |
| Le juge l'a condamné à la prison à vie. |
| life | n | (aspect of existence) aspect de l'existence | vie nf |
| She has an active social life. |
| Elle a une vie sociale active. |
| life | n | figurative (sb precious) figuré : personne chère | vie nf |
| I love my boy. He is my life. |
| J'aime mon fils. Il est ma vie. |
| Report an error |
| Compound Forms/Formes composées |
| after-life | | | au-delà nm |
| all my life | adv | (throughout my lifetime) | toute ma vie adv |
| I was born in Manchester, and I've lived here all my life. |
| Ils ont habité en Dordogne toute leur vie. |
| all the days of your life | npl | (for the rest of your life) | chaque jour que Dieu fait loc adv |
| Arrête de penser à la faillite de ton ancienne entreprise chaque jour que Dieu fait. |
| animal life | | | faune nf |
| average life | | | vie moyenne nf |
| average life | | | durée de vie moyenne |
| be brought to life | vi | literal (be resuscitated) | ranimer qqn vtr |
| They brought her back to life but she never came out of the coma. |
| Les secouristes ont pu ranimer le victime. // La patiente a été ranimée par le médecin urgentiste. |
| bird life | | | faune ailée |
| breath of life | | | souffle de la vie nm |
| breath of life | | | souffle vital nm |
| breathe life into | vtr | figurative (revive, rejuvenate) | raviver⇒ vtr |
| The paramedics breathed life into the accident victim. |
| | | ranimer⇒ vtr |
| Il a lancé un nouveau sujet pour ranimer la conversation. |
| breathe new life into | vtr | figurative (reinvent, rejuvenate) | donner un second souffle à expr |
| Hiring Edie with her fresh new ideas will breathe new life into this company. |
| | | insuffler un nouveau dynamisme vtr |
| Avec ses idées innovantes, elle a insufflé un nouveau dynamisme au projet. |
| bring sb back to life | v | (resuscitate sb) | ramener qqn à la vie vtr |
| Note: resuscitate somebody or something |
| The idea, once rejected, has been brought back to life by proponents. |
| Il a réussi à la ramener à la vie, en lui faisant des massages cardiaques pendant plusieurs minutes. |
| | | ressusciter⇒ vtr |
| bring to life | vtr | figurative (enliven) fig | animer⇒ vtr |
| The party was boring until the band played music and brought it to life. |
| business life insurance | | | assurance vie dans le domaine des affaires |
| change of life | | | changement de vie |
| circle of life | n | figurative (cycle of birth and death) | cycle de la vie nm |
| city life | n | (urban lifestyle) | vie citadine nf |
| I prefer the high energy of city life to the calm of the country. |
| come to life | v | figurative (become lively, animated) | revivre⇒ vi |
| It's suprising how much I come to life after a short nap. |
| C'est incroyable à quel point je revis après une petite sieste. |
| come to life | v | figurative (art, theatre: be portrayed realistically) | prendre vie vi |
| His stories seem to come to life as he tells them with such passion. |
| Ses histoires semblent prendre vie quand il les raconte. |
| | | s'animer⇒ v pron |
| credit life insurance | | | assurance-vie de crédit nf |
| daily life | n | (everyday existence) | quotidien nm |
| Some people only practice their religion on holidays, while for others it is a part of their daily life. |
| Certaines personnes vont à la messe de temps en temps, d'autres intègrent la religion dans leur quotidien. |
| | | vie de tous les jours nf |
| On en a besoin dans la vie de tous les jours. |
| depart this life | v | euphemism (die) euphémisme | partir⇒ vi |
| When I depart this life, I want to go at the time and the manner of my choosing. |
| Quand je partirai, je veux que ce soit quand je le veux. |
| | euphémisme | s'en aller⇒ v pron |
| destruction of life | | | destruction de vie nf |
| devote one's life | | | se donner v |
| devote your life | v | (be totally committed: to a cause) | consacrer sa vie à vtr |
| Don't devote your life to a vain cause. |
| Ne consacre pas ta vie à une cause perdue. |
| | | vouer sa vie à vtr |
| dog life | | | vie de chien nf |
| dog's life | | | vie de chien nf |
| dream life | | | vie imaginaire nf |
| early life | n | (childhood) | enfance nf |
| She spent her early life in India, but moved to Britain as a teenager. |
| Elle a passé son enfance en Inde mais a déménagé en Grande-Bretagne à l'adolescence. |
| earth life | | (religion) | vie terrestre nf |
| elixir of life | n | (potion believed to make one immortal) | élixir de longue vie nm |
| emotional life | | | la vie émotionnelle |
| end of life | adj | (final days of terminal disease) | de fin de vie adj |
| A hospice is often the best place for end of life care. |
| L'hospice est souvent le lieu le mieux adapté pour les soins de fin de vie. |
| essence of life | | | essence de vie |
| estimated life | n | (life expectancy) objet | durée de vie probable nf |
| The estimated life of the light bulb is 64 hours. |
| | personne | espérance de vie nf |
| eternal life | n | (religion: life after death) | vie éternelle nf |
| Christians believe that, through faith and good works, they can attain eternal life with God. |
| everyday life | n | (normal daily existence) | la vie de tous les jours nf |
| The teacher showed the students how they use math in everyday life. |
| Taking his medecine became part of his everyday life. |
| Il n'est pas comme ça dans sa vie de tous les jours. |
| facts of life | npl | (sex education) | choses de la vie nfpl |
| If the parents don't teach their children the facts of life the school system will have to do it. |
| Si les parents n'apprennent pas les choses de la vie à leurs enfants, alors, l'école devra le faire. |
| fear for his life | vi | (be afraid he is likely to die, be killed) | craindre pour sa vie v |
| He feared for his life when the robber drew a gun. |
| fear for one's life | | familier | craindre pour sa peau v |
| fear for one's life | | | craindre pour sa vie v |
| for life | adv | (for the rest of one's life) | à vie adv |
| Marriage is a commitment for life. |
| | | pour la vie adv |
| Quand on se marie, en théorie, c'est pour la vie. |
| for your life | | | pour ta vie phrase |
| full of life | adj | (lively, energetic) | plein de vie adj |
| He is nearly 80, but still full of life and still with an eye for the ladies. |
| future life | n | (reincarnation after one's death) | prochaine vie nf |
| I hope to come back as a house cat in a future life. |
| Dans une prochaine vie, je serai peut-être acteur. |
| give life to | vtr | (animate, enliven) | animer⇒ vtr |
| Her presence gave life to the boring party. |
| give life to | vtr | (give birth to) | donner la vie à vtr |
| good life | n | (luxurious lifestyle) | belle vie nf |
| He is living the good life on his yacht in the Mediterranean. |
| Marco mène la belle vie sur son yacht en Méditerranée. |
| | italianisme | dolce vita nf |
| | fig, fam | se la couler douce loc v |
| Pendant que certains se la coulent douce sur la côte d'Azur, d'autres ne peuvent pas se payer des vacances. |
| good life, the | | | la bonne vie nf |
| group life insurance | | | assurance vie de groupe(s) |
| group life insurance | | | octroie l'assurance vie de groupe(s) |
| half life | | | demi-vie nf |
| half-life | n | (time radioactivity decreases by half) | demi-vie nf |
| The half-life of uranium-238 is about 4.47 billion years. |
| half-life | n | (time taken for sth to decrease by half) | demi-vie nf |
| Uranium-238 has a half-life of about 4.47 billion years. |
| La demi-vie de l'uranium-238 est d'environ 4,47 milliards d'années |
| hard life | n | (difficult life) | vie difficile nf |
| Working in the coal mines was a hard life. |
| Les chauffeurs de taxi en Afrique ont une vie difficile. Ils prennent beaucoup de risques et ne gagnent presque rien. |
| have a good life | | | avoir la belle vie |
| Have a nice life | interj | informal, ironic (used when bitter or dismissive) ironique | c'est ça, le bonjour chez toi, chez vous ! |
| | ironique | au plaisir de ne plus te, vous revoir interj |
| have life | | | être plein de vie, vigoureux v |
| high life | | | vie mondaine nf |
| high life | | | grande vie nf |
| home life | | | vie de famille nf |
| home life | | familial | foyer nm |
| human life | n | (humanity, people) | vie humaine nf |
| So far there is no evidence of human life on Mars. |
| inner life | | | vie intérieure nf |
| larger than life | | | hors du commun adj inv |
| | | plus vrai que nature adj |
| life after death | | (religion) | vie après la mort nf |
| life annuity | | Juridique | viager nm |
| life annuity | | (finance) finance | rente viagère nf |
| life assurance, US: life insurance | n | UK (insurance that pays if holder dies) | assurance vie nf |
| People with young children are more likely to buy life insurance. |
| life buoy | | | bouée de sauvetage |
| life changing, life-changing | adj | (having a huge impact on sb) | bouleverser une vie loc v |
| Note: hyphen used when term is an adj before a noun |
| Volunteering in Central America was a life-changing experience for me. |
| Cette expérience dans le camp de réfugiés a bouleversé ma vie (or: fut un bouleversement dans ma vie). |
| | | tournant dans l'existence nm |
| Ce volontariat en Amérique a été un tournant dans mon existence. |
| life choice | n | (decision impacting on lifestyle) | choix de vie nm |
| My boyfriend and I have lived together for 20 years, but are not married; it's a life choice. |
| Mon compagnon et moi habitons ensemble depuis 20 ans, mais nous ne sommes pas mariés : c'est un choix de vie. |
| life class | n | (nude drawing lesson) | séance de nu nf |
| Ce cours de dessin organise chaque semaine trois séances de nu. |
| life course | | cours de la vie | cours de la vie adv |
| life cycle | n | (development process of sth living) | cycle de vie nm |
| The students learned about the life cycle of a butterfly, from larva to cocoon to mature butterfly. |
| | | cycle de développement nm |
| Les étudiants ont appris le cycle de développement d'un papillon |
| life essence | | | essence de la vie |
| life expectancy | n | (age one is expected to live to) | espérance de vie nf |
| The average life expectancy for a man in the US is about 75 years. |
| L'espérance de vie des femmes est généralement plus élevée que celle des hommes. |
| life force | | | force vitale |
| life form | | | habitus nm |
| life guard | | | maître nageur, sauveteur nm |
| life history | | | histoire de la vie |
| life imprisonment | n | (long-term prison sentence) | prison à perpétuité nf |
| After being convicted of murder, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. |
| Il a été condamné à la prison à perpétuité. |
| | fam | perpette, perpète nf |
| Il a été condamné à perpette (or: Il a pris perpette). |
| life insurance | n | (policy that pays out after death) | assurance-vie nf |
| I bought life insurance to help my family in case something happens to me. |
| A la mort de sa femme, il a touché une belle assurance-vie. |
| life interest | | | usufruit nm |
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