vive la différence

See also: vive la difference

English

Alternative forms

• vive la difference

Etymology

Borrowed from French, literally “long live the difference”, from vive (“long live”) + la (“the”) + différence (“difference, diversity”). Although correct and unremarkable French, it is not a stock phrase in French as it is in English.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌvivə lɑ ˌdɪfəˈɹɑns/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌviːv lɑː ˌdɪfəˈɹɒns/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Phrase

vive la différence

1. (often humorous) Used to express appreciation of diversity, especially between the sexes; sometimes referring to cultural diversity, and more rarely to diversity of opinion, as in "let's agree to disagree".
   • 2001 November 1, Sandra Díaz with Marcelo Cabido, “Vive la différence: plant functional diversity matters to ecosystem processes”, in Trends in Ecology & Evolution‎, volume 16, number 11, pages 646–655:

Usage notes

• Often used as a humorous exclamation (e.g., by a man appreciating an attractive woman).
• The term la différence is sometimes abstracted from this saying to refer to the difference between the sexes, or to heterosexual sexual interest implied to result from this.

Synonyms

• long live the difference