Even if you don’t know any French, you may already be familiar with the French words “voici” and “voilà.”

“Voici” means “here is,” “here are,” “this is,” or “these are.”

“Voilà” has a slightly different meaning, translating to “there is,” “there are,” “that is,” or “those are.”

“Voici” comes from the Middle French “voicy,” which would be written “vois ci” in modern French. “Ci” is a word that corresponds to “ici,” which means “here.” So “voici” means literally “see here.”

The first recorded use of “voilà” was in 1538. It is made of the two words “vois là,” which means “see there.”

There are a few other uses for both “voici” and “voilà,” but if you understand that “voici” originally meant “see here” and “voilà” originally meant “see there,” you will remember the basic distinction between the two.