histoire
/is.twaʁ/feminine
The French word for history is histoire.
histoire refers to the branch of knowledge that studies the past. When you are specifically referring to History as a formal academic discipline, it is common to capitalize the word as l'Histoire. To refer to a history book, you would use le livre d'histoire and you can use l'Antiquité to speak about antiquity or ancient history. If you are referring to a specific historical period, use l'époque.
Meaning: branch of knowledge that studies the past (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
Because histoire is a feminine noun, you must use the feminine indefinite article une when referring to a single story, as in une histoire.
How do you pronounce it?
/is.twaʁ/. It has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- When a French speaker says faire toute une histoire, they are not talking about recording the past but are accusing someone of making a big deal out of nothing.
- While 'history' in English often implies a factual account, a French speaker saying C'est une histoire might actually be implying that something is a 'made-up tale' or a 'lie'.
- The word histoire shares the same root as the English word 'story'. Both descended from the Ancient Greek word ἱστορία, which originally referred to a 'learned inquiry' or 'knowledge acquired by investigation'.
Examples in context
- On va faire l’Histoire.We’ll make history.This sentence shows how to use histoire to express making history.Tatoeba #12351521 by sacredceltic, translation #12351518 by sacredceltic
- Il m'a appris l'histoire.He taught me history.This sentence shows how to use histoire when talking about learning the subject.Tatoeba #9159690 by Julien_PDC, translation #370634 by saeb
- Je veux étudier l'Histoire.I want to study history.This sentence shows how to use histoire in the context of studying the subject.Tatoeba #1032734 by sacredceltic, translation #262266 by CK
- L'histoire de la Révolution françaiseThe history of the French Revolution
- La discipline historique comprend l'histoire économique, l'histoire sociale, et l'histoire culturelleThe historical discipline includes economic history, social history, and cultural history
- Il est nécessaire de comprendre le contexte historique pour analyser ce documentIt is necessary to understand the historical context to analyze this document
- L'Antiquité égyptienne regorge de mystèresAncient Egyptian history is full of mysteries
- Je m'intéresse particulièrement à l'époque médiévaleI am particularly interested in the medieval period
- Le débarquement de Normandie est un événement historique majeurThe D-Day landing is a major historical event
- Les travaux de cet historien sont reconnus internationalementThe works of this historian are internationally recognized
- J'ai lu un bon livre d'histoire sur la Première Guerre mondialeI read a good history book about World War I
- 273 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emma and Lucas are talking in a library about their studies.
- EmmaTu aimes l'histoire ?Do you like history?
- LucasOui, c'est ma matière préférée.Yes, it is my favorite subject.
- EmmaMoi, je préfère les sciences.As for me, I prefer science.
- LucasC'est vrai, l'histoire est difficile.That's true, history is difficult.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “history” translations and entries histoire, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries histoire, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
