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Histoire – story, history

Histoire – story, history

Today we’ll have a look at the feminine noun histoire, which means both story and history. A common mistake is for students to want to pronounce the H, which is completely silent. The pronunciation is: ee-stoir or [istwaʀ].

l’histoire – [istwaʀ]

story, history

l’Histoire – Story & History

Word origin

Histoire comes from ἱστορία (historía) in Greek, meaning knowledge from research or a story of what one learned.

Example sentences

The French use the verb raconter for “telling”stories. This first sentence is in the near future tense, which combines the present tense of aller (to go) and an infinitive.

Je vais te raconter une super histoire.

I’m going to tell you a great story.

Romeo et Juliette est une histoire d’amour.

Romeo and Juliette is a love story.

In French, the expression raconter des histoires means to lie, fib or tell tall tales.

Tu racontes des histoires ? Dis la verité !

Are you telling tall tales? Tell the truth!

En France can translate to both “to” or “in” France.

C’est une bonne idée d’étudier l’histoire française avant de voyager en France.

It’s a good idea to study French history before traveling to France.

Histoire - French feminine noun meaning history and story.
Histoire – French feminine noun meaning history and story.

Related lessons

References

French Word of the Day

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David Issokson
David Issokson is the founder and French teacher of Frenchlearner.com. With over 30 years of experience as a French learner and speaker, he is passionate about making the language accessible and enjoyable for everyone. David is dedicated to providing clear, practical, and effective resources to help you master French. Learn more about FrenchLearner on our about us page. Visit davidissokson.com, David's personal website.

David Issokson

David Issokson is the founder and French teacher of Frenchlearner.com. With over 30 years of experience as a French learner and speaker, he is passionate about making the language accessible and enjoyable for everyone. David is dedicated to providing clear, practical, and effective resources to help you master French. Learn more about FrenchLearner on our about us page. Visit davidissokson.com, David's personal website.

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