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Telling Stories and More with "Histoire"

In the latest segment of Le Jour où tout a basculé, Frédéric and Anne-Sophie meet Laetitia at a café to deliver some shocking news: their daughters were switched at birth. Upon hearing this, Laetitia is in a state of total disbelief. She says to the couple: 

 

Mais qu'est-ce que c'est que cette histoire?

But what is this all about?

Caption 38, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Nos bébés ont été échangés...

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BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Histoire is related to two English words, "history" and "story," and can mean either one depending on context:

 

Ici, donc une ville riche en culture et riche en histoire...

So here a town rich in culture and rich in history...

Caption 8, Lionel - à Wissembourg

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C'est vraiment une histoire d'amour,

It's really a love story,

c'est parti d'une histoire d'amour.

it started out as a love story.

Caption 4, Annie Chartrand - Sa musique

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But in informal expressions like qu'est-ce que c'est que cette histoire, the word means something more along the lines of "business" or "matter." It often has this meaning in the construction histoire de + noun: 

 

Ici tout est histoire de récup' [récupération],

Here it's all a matter [or questionof recycling,

de quoi créer un beau Noël.

enough to create a beautiful Christmas.

Caption 58, Alsace 20 - Alsace: les plus belles déco de Noël!

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When histoire de follows an infinitive, it means "in order to," "just to," or "so as to": 

 

Bats le beurre de citron, histoire de bien mélanger le tout.

Whisk the lemon butter, it's a matter of mixing it all well.

Caption 47, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano - Médaillon de Homard

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Two other, less familiar ways of saying "in order to" are pour + infinitive and afin de + infinitive.

 

Be careful with the expression raconter des histoires. It can either mean "to tell stories" or "to tell lies":

 

La mère raconte des histoires aux enfants chaque soir. 
The mother tells stories to the children every night. 

 

Arrête de me raconter des histoires!
Stop telling me lies!

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

That's the story with histoire! If you have any questions or comments, please write to us at newsletter@yabla.com or tweet us @yabla.

Vocabulary