Ci et là
French has two opposing families of words that indicate location:
- The ci family, with meanings related to «here»
- The là family, with meanings related to «there»
These base units are found in a variety of words:
| adverbs of place | ici | là | ||
| prefixes | ci- | là- | ||
| suffixes | -ci | -là | ||
| demonstrative pronouns | ceci | cela (ça) | ||
| presentatives | voici | voilà |
For detailed information about the grammar behind these word pairs and how to use them, click the above links. This lesson is about the difference between the two families.
The ci family of words indicate closeness: here, this one, these, etc., while the là family is about distance: there, that one, those … at least in theory.
In reality, French speakers tend to favor là regardless of the location in question.
Par exemple…
| English | Literal French | Colloquial French | |
| I’m here. | Je suis ici. | Je suis là. | |
| Here’s your book. | Voici ton livre. | Voilà ton livre. | |
| I don’t like this. | Je n’aime pas ceci. | Je n’aime pas cela (ça). |
When the speaker wants to make a clear distinction, they use the two words together.
| I’m here and he’s there. | Je suis ici et il est là. | |
| Here’s your book and there’s mine. | Voici ton livre et voilà le mien. | |
| I don’t like this, I prefer that. | Je n’aime pas ceci, je préfère cela. |
Ci and là are also found together in two adverbial locutions:
- de ci de là – here and there, this way and that
- par-ci par-là – here and there; now and then, from time to time
Related lessons
- Adverbs
- Demonstrative pronouns
- Prefixes
- Presentatives
- Suffixes
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#1
When I look up «la» in the dictionary it always says it means «there» but particularly in french movies, I’ve always seen people say «la» to mean «here»?
Is it also used to mean «here» also?
Help … confused frnoob.
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#2
Yes, normally you have «là», meaning «there»,
as opposed to «ici», meaning «here»
It indeed happens that people use it undistincly (mostly in spoken language)
«Viens là» for «come here», similar to the very slight difference
between «put it here» and «put it there» when asking to put an object
near you.
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#3
là = you point your finger at «the» place, that’s why we translate it as «there»
here= ici
but in fact là or ici have quite the same meaning
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#4
When I look up «là» in the dictionary it always says it means «there» but particularly in french movies, I’ve always seen people say «là» to mean «here»?
Is it also used to mean «here» also?
là = there
ici = here
«là» and «there» are used as a common speech abreviation in both French and English:
«Come on there, now!» meaning «come on now, (you over) there!»
«Viens-t-en, là!» pour dire «Viens-t-en, toi là-bas!»,
indicating a certain amount of impatience at the listener for still being ‘over there’.
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#5
Ahhh, okay, that make sense, I get it now.
Merciiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii crolette, hibouette, marie-francoise =)
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#6
the very slight difference
between «put it here» and «put it there» when asking to put an object
near you.
the very slight difference:
«put it here» would be used to mean:
near you (if you are NOT indicating the specific place), or
directly beside you (if you ARE pointing out a specific place).
as opposed to
«put it there», which would be used to mean:
away from you (if you are NOT indicating the specific place), or
in your general vincinity (if you ARE pointing out a specific place).
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#7
«Come on there, now!» meaning «come on now, (you over) there!»
«Viens-t-en, là!» pour dire «Viens-t-en, toi là-bas!»,
ON peut dire «vas t’en de là» / «Viens par ici»
Mais viens-t-en de là n’hésiste pas, enfin en FRANCE !
DDT
Senior Member
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#8
There’s a very common use of «là» as «here»: whenever you’re calling someone (on the phone) and the person is not available you might be told «il/elle n’est pas là»
DDT
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#9
ON peut dire «vas t’en de là» / «Viens par ici»
Mais viens-t-en de là n’hésiste pas, enfin en FRANCE !
Je veux bien qu’on dise ça, mais dans vos exemple (de là), il n’y a aucunne confusion entre ici et là.
«de là» = «from there» et ne veut pas dire ici:
«vas t’en de là» = «get away from there»
and does not necessarily mean the person is requested to come here. It may be that you simply want the person to go to another place, a different there.
«viens-t-en de là…» = «come away from there»
In this case, it is come/viens that implies where you want the person to go (ici/here) once they have left there.
What I’m trying to say is that «ici» and «là» are NOT interchangeable, which is the same for «here» and «there» in English
Any more examples? I’m having fun with this one!
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#10
There’s a very common use of «là» as «here»: whenever you’re calling someone (on the phone) and the person is not available you might be told «il/elle n’est pas là»
DDT
I have also heard that many times.
I»ve always considered it a common misuse of the word. It is the same in English:
«he/she’s not there» is commonly said.
Realistically, one should say: «il/elle n’est pas ici» / «he/she’s not here», which is what I hear a vast majority of the time.
But…
it could also mean the person speaking is making the distinction between:
«there»: (vaguely) in the general vincinity.
and
«here»: (specifically) directly beside him/her.
Note that here and there are relative terms. Here can be anything the speaker considers nearby and there can be any distance away, even a short one.
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#11
What I’m trying to say is that «ici» and «là» are NOT interchangeable, which is the same for «here» and «there» in English
Of course they
shouldn’t
be interchangeable, but I think that in everyday speaking the French use practically always «là» for both «here» and «there» and they very seldom say «ici». For example «Je suis là» for «I am here».
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#12
Ah, I see what you mean by how its used on the telephone.
In the movie L’Auberge Espaniole, Romain Duris’ character Xavier leaves a note for others to use when his family or friends call…
«Xavier n’est pas là, il va revenir ce soir».
I google translated the above was obviously confused to read «there» instead of «here».
I can’t think of anything at the moment but in english if you were to misuse the two its generally really easy to pick. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say «Xavier is not there» instead of Xavier is not here. If anyone makes that mistake then its very noticeably wrong & is not a common mistake. That is not to denounce the french people or the french language but to be honest I really haven’t heard this being misused in english.
Perhaps I just can’t think of any at the moment though.
fn.
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#13
I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say «Xavier is not there» instead of Xavier is not here. If anyone makes that mistake then its very noticeably wrong & is not a common mistake.
Actually, I hear it frequently in English too…
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#14
Of course they
shouldn’t
be interchangeable, but I think that in everyday speaking the French use practically always «là» for both «here» and «there» and they very seldom say «ici». For example «Je suis là» for «I am here».
You had me stumped on that one for a minute.
But I would have to argue, that in this case, as on the phone, the speaker is referring to
«là» / «there», meaning in the general vincinity
as opposed to
«ici» / «here», meaning directly beside
So…
One says: «Viens ici!» (tout juste à coté de moi)
The other answers: «Oui, enfin, je suis là!» (dans tes alentours)
But you are posing excellent challenges, and by thinking about all these subtle nuances, something dawned on me that I had never particularily noticed before.
I THINK in French, or at least to French speakers, ‘ici’ tends to be used to indicate something very close, directly beside the speaker, whereas in English, ‘here’ can also be very close, or it can be just a general ‘nearness’.
On the flip side, ‘là’ seems to be used for any distance, whether it is ‘in the general vincinity’ or ‘far away’, whereas in English, or at least to English speakers, ‘there’ is used for a short distance only when pointing to a specific there. (put it there/stand over there in the corner). Otherwise ‘there’ would generally indicate a place out of site/reach, quite a distance away.
In other words, the general vincinty of the French might very well be the same distance away as the general nearness of the English!
So I’ve come back to the relativity of qualifying distances.
I remember my Belgian cousins’ dismay when I would say: «yeah, we have that here. It’s not far» then driving nearly an hour to get to it. To me it was here, in my general area. For him, I had been lying: it wasn’t close by at all.
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#15
I agree with those of you who say that there is no clear-cut and definite parallel : there = là(at a distance) and here = ici(close by) .Or shall we say normally yes but not systematically in French from France that is.I can think of one example in particular : «ôte toi de là que je m’y mette» a regular phrase/cliché asking somebody to leave his seat/place and let the person who is speaking take it. «là» can only be in the immediate vicinity, since the person is going to sit in that place/seat. I also take up the sentence «on the phone» but place in a different context : There’s a knock on the door : somebody wants to speak to Jean, he’s not in. Suppose his wife answers, she will say «Il n’est pas là» (not in) meaning «ici» since she’s inside the house at the door… And similarly in English the idea that There is distant and here close is somewhat simplistic. Several other patterns interfere: the past,the present, what you like and don’t like even if it’s close to you etc. Modern «grammairiens» have revised many of these views from older grammar books.
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#16
It seems to me that in some examples ici indicates in the same space and là indicates in the same/present time. Maybe we do not address the right question when we compare the merits of ici et là in terms of here/there, closer, more distant, etc. In the example given by Frenchnoob, the note saying «Xavier n’est pas là, il va revenir ce soir» could easily be replaced by «Xavier n’est pas présent…». When you say ne t’inquiète pas, je suis là, je suis avec toi, you could say it over the phone from a long distance, because the meaning is je suis présent(e) dans cet instant à tes côtés. Ici et là (presque) faux débat ?
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#17
It seems to me that in some examples ici indicates in the same space and là indicates in the same/present time. Maybe we do not address the right question when we compare the merits of ici et là in terms of here/there, closer, more distant, etc. In the example given by Frenchnoob, the note saying «Xavier n’est pas là, il va revenir ce soir» could easily be replaced by «Xavier n’est pas présent…». When you say ne t’inquiète pas, je suis là, je suis avec toi, you could say it over the phone from a long distance, because the meaning is je suis présent(e) dans cet instant à tes côtés. Ici et là (presque) faux débat
?
Brilliant!
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#18
I may be incorrect, but I’ve been explained to that in the difference between French and English in «ici/là» vs. «here/there» is that the French tend to include others in the «ici,» while «là» excludes the person being talked to.
So if I am «here» but you are not, I am «là». If we are here together then we can be «ici.»
If my friend and I were talking and I wanted to emphasize that I am physically here with him, I would say, «Je suis ici.»
On the contrary, if a friend were searching for me, I would say, «I am here (away from you)», by saying, «Je suis là.»
In conclusion, the French seem to be talking from the perspective of the person they are speaking with, whereas we Anglicans are more self-centered.
C’est correct, les français, ou je me trompe?
wildan1
Moderando ma non troppo (French-English, CC Mod)
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#19
I think the sense of proxmity is a general one. I often notice native French speakers say that when referring to a thing in a relatively nearby location, when an English native would say this. Saying that makes it sound like the object referred to is in another room or farther away, when in fact it’s just not right next to the speaker in the French native’s perception.
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#20
This discussion was great! I’ve always asked myself about the use of «là» and «ici».
Just to add some more nuance to «là», I feel that it’s used to mean «now», too. Am I right? I’m sorry I can’t think of an example.
oops…
«Désolé mais là je n’ai pas d’exemples.»
Is this sentence right?
There’s something else I’d like to know from you all (French AND English speakers). My native language is Portuguese. We have «aqui», «lá», «ali» and «aí»:
Aqui: near me
Lá: far from me and my interlocutor
Ali: just a little far from me and/or my interlocutor, usually pointing
Aí: near my interlocutor
Is there any way to determine that in French/ English? (regarding English only: does that have anything to do with «(over) here» and «(over) there»?)
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Ici Vs Là For Here & There
I knew from an early time that Ici meant «Here» in French but from watching some French programmes, I discovered that they used Là to express here (Je suis là for I am here). But from what I learnt, I thought Là meant «There». It’s really confusing and I thought somebody on this platform could offer a better explanation of the difference and relationship between the two. Thanks 
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
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The French for ‘here’ is ici.
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