ils vécurent heureux et eurent beaucoup d'enfants
The English phrase 'happily ever after' is expressed in French as ils vécurent heureux et eurent beaucoup d'enfants.
This phrase is an adverbial expression used to describe a state of happiness for the remainder of one's life.
Meaning: in a state of happiness for the rest of his, her, their, etc., lives (adv)
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, the phrase translates to 'they lived happy and had many children'.
When do people say it?
This specific sentence is the standard formulaic way to end fairy tales in French, equivalent to the English 'happily ever after'.
Did you know?
- The word beaucoup originally comes from the Old French phrase biau cop, meaning 'a beautiful hit' or 'a nice strike'.
Examples in context
- Ils vécurent heureux et eurent beaucoup d'enfants.They lived happily ever after.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use ils vécurent heureux et eurent beaucoup d'enfants.Tatoeba #366853 by sysko, translation #290772 by blay_paul
- Et ils vécurent heureux, sans aucun souci.And they lived happily, without a worry.
- Dans ce conte, ils vécurent heureux et eurent beaucoup d'enfants.In this fairy tale, they lived happily ever after and had many children.
Example conversation
Lucas and Léa are discussing a classic story in a library.
- LucasEst-ce que la fin est joyeuse ?Is the ending happy?
- LéaOui, ils vécurent heureux et eurent beaucoup d'enfants.Yes, they lived happily ever after and had many children.
- LucasC'est une très belle fin pour elle et lui.It is a very beautiful ending for her and him.
- LéaC'est vrai, c'est une histoire parfaite.It's true, it's a perfect story.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries beaucoup, et, heureux, ils, ils vécurent heureux et eurent beaucoup d'enfants, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
