Bonjour! When shall I use habiter and when vivre? Oh, and when demeurer?

valentina p.A1Kwiziq community member

Bonjour! When shall I use habiter and when vivre? Oh, and when demeurer?

Asked 7 years ago
AurélieKwiziq team memberCorrect answer
Bonjour Valentina !

That's an excellent question !

Habiter and vivre are interchangeable most of the time, though there is a slight nuance of meaning between them:
habiter means "to live in / to inhabit [a place]", whereas vivre is more about "being alive, living one's life [somewhere]"

As for demeurer, it's a more antiquated version of habiter, which can also mean "to remain".

I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Ron T.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonjour Valentina, demeurer is to live, stay or remain il est demeuré paralysé he was left paralysed vivre to live J'aimerais vivre à l'étranger. I'd like to live abroad. Je vis en Écosse. I live in Scotland. Il vit chez ses parents. He lives with his parents. Il a vécu à Paris pendant dix ans. He lived in Paris for ten years. habiter to live «in» Il habite à Montpellier. He lives in Montpellier habiter dans to live in habiter chez qn or habiter avec qn to live with sb habiter 16 rue Montmartre to live at number 16 rue Montmartre habiter rue Montmartre to live in rue Montmartre J'espère que cela vous aidera.

Bonjour! When shall I use habiter and when vivre? Oh, and when demeurer?

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Let me take a look at that...