vécu

Vécu is a French noun referring to the lived experience of an individual or group—the sum of events, feelings, and perceptions that people have actually undergone. It emphasizes subjective reality and personal meaning, often in contrast with knowledge gained through theory, abstract reasoning, or formal measurement. The expression expérience vécue (lived experience) is common, and the bare noun le vécu can be used when the context makes the meaning clear.

Etymology and grammar: vécu is the past participle of vivre (to live) and functions as a masculine noun in modern usage. The unqualified form le vécu is customary, while the plural les vécus is recognized but far less frequent in everyday language; many writers prefer parler of “l’expérience vécue” when referring to a set of experiences.

Usage and scope: In sociology, anthropology, psychology, and philosophy, vécu is used to describe how people actually experience social conditions such as gender, class, race, health, or migration. It foregrounds subjectivity and situated knowledge, making it common in qualitative research and critical discourse. The term can apply to the experiences of individuals, groups, or communities, and is often invoked to complement or challenge purely objective data.

Relation to expérience: While expérience denotes knowledge or practice gained through involvement or observation, expérience vécue specifically signals personal, lived reality. The distinction helps scholars address how people interpret and respond to their circumstances.

Linguistic notes: In English-language scholarship, vécu is sometimes adopted as a loanword to signal a focus on lived experience, though it remains most widely used in French-language discourse.