French word

histoire

Pronunciation

IPA/istwaʁ/

Meaning

  • feminine nounstory

Example

Peux-tu me raconter une histoire ?

Can you tell me a story?

Illustration for histoire (story)

More examples

Ne crois pas tout ce qu'il dit, c'est peut-être une histoire.

Don't believe everything he says; it may be a story.

Core concept

A compact anecdote that gives a conversation a concrete example.

Common phrases

  • raconter une histoire

    tell a story

  • une histoire drôle

    a funny story

  • une histoire vraie

    a true story

Similar words

anecdote: A brief, amusing account of a real event.
récit: A detailed account that presents events in order.
rumeur: A possibly untrue story passed from person to person.

Definition in French

Récit bref ou anecdote racontée dans une conversation, parfois inventée ou exagérée pour illustrer un point.

Word origin

The Latin and Greek source of histoire originally referred to inquiry and recorded knowledge before developing the sense of a narrated event.

Usage tips

  • Histoire de + infinitive is a common colloquial pattern meaning 'in order to' or 'just to'.

Other meanings

  • historynoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word