Make Your Point > Archived Issues > JOIE DE VIVRE
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connect this word to others:
The beautiful term joie de vivre, a favorite of many readers, appears in "The Legionnaire's Lament," a catchy song by The Decemberists.
See if you can recall some of our other words that also appear in it:
I'm a legionnaire
Camel in disrepair
Hoping for a Frigidaire
To come passing by
I am on reprieve
Lacking my joie de vivre
Missing my gay Paree
In this desert dry...
If only summer rain would fall
On the houses and the boulevards
And the sidewalk b_g_t_ll_s (cheap objects),
It's like a dream...
Medicating in the sun
Pinch doses of laudanum
Longing for the old f___nd_ty (abundance)
Of my homeland...
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make your point with...
"JOIE DE VIVRE"
This is French for "joy of life." That's exactly what it means in English, too.
Your joie de vivre is your high spirit, your exhilaration from living a thrilling life, the pure happiness you feel by living your best life.
Pronunciation:
jwah dih VEE vruh
(or: "jwah dih VEEVE")
Part of speech:
Noun, the uncountable kind: “the joie de vivre," "such joie de vivre," "her joie de vivre," "no joie de vivre."
Other forms:
none
How to use it:
This term is flashy and fancy. Use it anyway. It's wonderful.
Talk about someone's joie de vivre, or about someone discovering, rediscovering, losing, finding, retaining, sharing, or expressing his joie de vivre.
Or, talk about a time period of joie de vivre: "a morning of joie de vivre," "a second childhood of joie de vivre."
Or, talk about people doing, saying, or creating things with joie de vivre.
Or, talk about things (like books, films, performances, places, and memories) that brim with (or lack) joie de vivre.
Or, talk about things that inspire, encourage, or embody joie de vivre.
examples:
Throughout her babyhood, I was sleep-deprived. But when she laughed loudly, showing me her four new teeth, or when she stretched her arms, asking me to pick her up, I felt nothing but joie de vivre.
"Much of this [widespread love for the game] is owed to the Brazilian women’s players, who kick and run with an artful joie de vivre, offering ankle-breaking stutter steps and swashbuckling kicks."
— Michael Powell, The New York Times, 10 August 2016
has this page helped you understand "joie de vivre"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "joie de vivre" without saying "bliss of living" or "exuberance of spirit."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(A certain neighborhood, feature, landmark, tradition, or event) embodies (a place's) joie de vivre."
Example: "With its murals and quirkiness, ice cream parlors and game shops, Carytown embodies Richmond's joie de vivre."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
In August, we're playing the time-honored Game of Venery!
We're inventing terms for groups of things: terms that James Lipton, the author of An Exaltation of Larks, calls "shards of poetry and truth." Example terms of venery include lovely ones like "a conflagration of fireflies" and silly ones like "a myopia of umpires," "a rash of dermatologists," and "an unemployment of graduates."
In each issue this month, I'll offer two templates. Have fun filling them in and sharing your inventions with your family, being as lofty, silly, or bawdy as you like. In each subsequent issue, I'll list the actual terms that appear in Lipton's book.
From the previous issue:
1. A sesame of _____
2. A _____ of moving men
The terms listed in the book are "a sesame of locksmiths" and "a truculence of moving men."
Try these today:
1. An ostentation of _____
2. A _____ of appliances
review this word:
1. A near opposite of JOIE DE VIVRE is
A. BÊTISE (a foolish comment).
B. JEU D'ESPRIT (a witty comment or creation).
C. ENNUI (a deep and long-lasting boredom).
2. She arches her back and stretches her claws. Her joie de vivre seeps out in a _____.
A. purr
B. hiss
C. soft mew
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
The beautiful term joie de vivre, a favorite of many readers, appears in "The Legionnaire's Lament," a catchy song by The Decemberists.
"JOIE DE VIVRE" This is French for "joy of life." That's exactly what it means in English, too.
Throughout her babyhood, I was sleep-deprived. But when she laughed loudly, showing me her four new teeth, or when she stretched her arms, asking me to pick her up, I felt nothing but joie de vivre.
Explain the meaning of "joie de vivre" without saying "bliss of living" or "exuberance of spirit."
Fill in the blanks: "(A certain neighborhood, feature, landmark, tradition, or event) embodies (a place's) joie de vivre."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A near opposite of JOIE DE VIVRE is
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