survie du plus apte
feminine
survie du plus apte is the French translation for survival of the fittest.
This phrase refers to the biological concept of natural selection.
Meaning: natural selection (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of survie (survival), du (of the), plus (most) and apte (fit/capable).
Which one should you use?
While survie du plus apte is the precise biological term for natural selection, the variation survie du plus fort is a common colloquial way to say "survival of the strongest".
How does it change in a sentence?
In a full sentence, the phrase is typically preceded by the definite article la because survie is a feminine noun.
Did you know?
- In a scientific context, using plus fort instead of plus apte can actually be considered a mistake because it implies physical violence rather than evolutionary adaptation.
- The contraction du seen in the phrase is a relic of the Old French word del, which is quite different from the expected modern forms.
- In French, the word survie is built from the prefix sur meaning 'over' or 'above' and vie meaning 'life'.
Examples in context
- La sélection naturelle explique « seulement la survie du plus apte, pas l'apparition du plus apte ».Natural selection explains "only the survival of the fittest, not the arrival of the fittest".This sentence is useful for distinguishing between the survival of an existing fit organism and the arrival of a new one using survie du plus apte.Tatoeba #10555885 by carlosalberto, translation #10555874 by carlosalberto
- Dans la jungle urbaine, la survie du plus apte est la règle.In the concrete jungle, survival of the fittest is the rule.
- Dans cette compétition, seule la loi du plus fort s'applique.In this competition, only the law of the strongest applies.
- Dans cette compétition, c'est la loi du plus fort qui prime.In this competition, it's the law of the strongest that matters.
- Ce concept repose sur la survie du plus apte.This concept relies on survival of the fittest.
- La survie du plus apte est un principe biologique.Survival of the fittest is a biological principle.
Example conversation
Gabriel and Manon are discussing a biology lesson.
- GabrielTu comprends le concept de la survie du plus apte ?Do you understand the concept of survival of the fittest?
- ManonOui, Gabriel, c'est le principe de la sélection naturelle.Yes, Gabriel, it is the principle of natural selection.
- GabrielC'est fascinant comme mécanisme évolutif.It's a fascinating evolutionary mechanism.
- ManonJe suis d'accord avec toi, Manon trouve ça passionnant.I agree with you, Manon finds it exciting.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “survival of the fittest” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries apte, du, plus, survie, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
