Polyglot Dictionary

déjà vu

/de.ʒa vy/

le noun B1

le (masc.) la (fem.)

Underline = a spelling pattern that usually signals that gender.

N Register Neutral Era Current Frequency Common Domain General Tone Neutral

Meaning

  1. the unsettling feeling of having already lived through the present moment before

    Built from déjà (already) + vu (seen, past participle of voir "to see").

    • J'ai eu une impression de déjà vu en entrant dans cette maison.

      I had a feeling of déjà vu walking into that house.

N Category Idea Concreteness Abstract Animacy Inanimate Countability Countable Scope Individual

Made of

  • déjà already
  • vu seen, past participle of voir "to see"

Usage notes

So useful a concept that English, Spanish, and Portuguese all borrowed this exact French phrase rather than coining their own.

Practice

1 What does déjà vu mean?

2 Fill the gap: J'ai eu une impression de ___ vu en entrant dans cette maison.

3 Which fingerprint chart matches déjà vu?

nouncompound

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