Habiter vs Vivre
French Verbs "To Live"
The French verbs habiter and vivre both mean to live, but are used in different circumstances. You won't be able to live with yourself if you don't learn how to use them both. :-)
| Habiter is the equivalent of to live in, to reside in, to inhabit, used to express where one lives. Habiter is a reguler -er verb and may or may not take a preposition. | ||||
| J'habite (à) Paris. | I live in Paris. | |||
| Nous avons habité (dans) une maison. | We lived in a house. | |||
| Il n'a jamais habité | en la |
banlieue | He has never lived in the suburbs. | |
| Cette maison n'est pas habitée. | This house is unoccupied. | |||
| Habiter can also be used figuratively | ||||
| Une passion incroyable l'habite. | An incredible passion lives in (inhabits) him. | |||
| Vivre means to live, to be alive, to exist - it expresses how or when one lives. Vivre is an irregular -re verb. | ||||
| Elle vit dans le luxe. | She lives in luxury. | |||
| Voltaire a vécu au 18e siècle. | Voltaire lived in the 18th century. | |||
| Il vit toujours avec sa mère. | He still lives with his mother. | |||
| Nous vivons des jours heureux ! | We're living in happy days! | |||
| Vivre can express where one lives. | ||||
| Je vis à Paris. | I live in Paris. | |||
| Vivre is also used in some expressions. | ||||
| l'art de vivre | the art of living | |||
| être facile/difficile à vivre | to be easy/hard to live with | |||
| la joie de vivre | joy for life | |||
| mal vivre qqchose | to have a hard time of something | |||
| le savoir-vivre | savoir faire, know how, good manners | |||
| vivre le présent | to live for today | |||
| vivre sa foi, son art, ses croyances | to realize one's faith, art, beliefs | |||
| vivre sa vie | to live one's (own) life | |||
| vivre vieux | to live to a ripe old age | |||
Some less common synonyms:
- Demeurer - to live or stay somewhere, to remain
Loger - to live, to put up, to accommodate
Résider - to reside
Séjourner - to stay, to sojourn
| Test on habiter vs vivre Expressions with vivre |
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