How to Say “Long Live the King” in French

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vive le roi
In French, "long live the king" is said as vive le roi.
vive le roi is an exclamation used to express loyalty and to wish for the continued reign of a monarch. It is often used as an exclamation, typically starting with a capital letter and ending with an exclamation mark.

What does it mean word for word?

The word vive is the third-person singular present subjunctive form of the verb vivre, which means "to live".

Did you know?

  • The phrase vive le roi is famously paired with le roi est mort, forming the legal principle that the monarchy never ceases to exist even when the monarch dies.
  • During the French Revolution, revolutionaries replaced vive le roi with vive la nation or vive la république to signal a total break from monarchical loyalty.
  • The word le in this phrase evolved from the Latin 'illum', which originally meant 'that one' before it became a simple definite article.

Examples in context

Example conversation

Lucas and Léa are watching a parade for the monarchy.

  1. Lucas

    Regarde, le cortège arrive enfin !
    Look, the procession is finally arriving!
  2. Léa

    C'est impressionnant, vive le roi !
    It's impressive, long live the king!
  3. Lucas

    Oui, tout le monde a l'air heureux.
    Yes, everyone seems happy.
  4. Léa

    C'est un jour historique pour nous.
    It is a historic day for us.

Sources

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Lindsay Tracey
Lindsay TraceyHelp make this guide better. Spot a mistake, know another way to say it, or have an example from real life? Share it below.
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