voilà
/vwa.la/
The French phrase voilà means voila.
voilà is used to present something, to indicate that a task is completed or to draw attention to a result. It can be translated as "there it is" or "there you go."
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation of voilà is /vwa.la/ and consists of two syllables.
Did you know?
- Despite its ubiquity in English, voilà is not used by French speakers to describe a magic trick. They are more likely to use phrases that describe the reveal or the surprise.
- If you want to point at something nearby instead of something over there, you should switch to voici, which combines 'look' and 'here'.
- In casual conversation, French speakers often use voilà as a filler word to signal they have finished their thought, similar to how English speakers use 'so' or 'and that is that'.
Examples in context
- Voilà !Voila!This example is useful for seeing how to use voilà.Tatoeba #10505390 by pkill, translation #10238385 by ddnktr
- Eh bien, voici le rapport que vous avez demandéWell, here is the report you requested
- Et voici Monsieur Dupont, notre invité d'honneurAnd here is Mr. Dupont, our guest of honor
- Tenez, voici le cadeau que nous vous offronsHere, take the gift that we are offering you
- Voilà, votre café est prêt.There you go, your coffee is ready.
- Et voilà, le travail est fini.And there, the work is finished.
Example conversation
Gabriel is showing Manon a photo on his phone.
- GabrielRegarde, voilà la photo de mon chat.Look, there is the photo of my cat.
- ManonOh, il est très mignon !Oh, he is very cute!
- GabrielVoilà, c'est sa plus belle photo.There, it's his best photo.
- ManonElle est vraiment superbe.It is truly superb.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry voilà, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
