Voilà is a French word that English has borrowed and now uses freely. You say it at the moment something appears, is finished, or is revealed — the little verbal flourish that goes with pulling the cloth off the table.

Three common uses:

- Showing a result. You finish cooking, put the dish down: 'Add the cheese, wait five minutes, and — voilà!'

- Presenting something to someone: you open the door of the new office and say 'Voilà.'

- Meaning 'and that's it, problem solved', often with a touch of humour: 'You just press this button, and voilà, it works again.'

The tone matters. It is playful and a bit theatrical. A teacher showing a magic trick says it; a doctor giving you bad news does not. English speakers use it partly BECAUSE it is French — it sounds a little stylish, a little tongue-in-cheek. Overuse it and you sound like you are performing.

In French it literally means 'see there' (voi = see, là = there), and French uses it in far more situations, including quite plain ones. English took only the dramatic-reveal part.

Saying it: vwah-LAH, stress on the second half. That first sound is 'vw', not 'v' alone — hard for many learners, and worth practising slowly.