Viola, Viola, or Voila?

By Judy Vorfeld

How many times have you heard tri­umphant trum­pets (in one sense or another) while some­one said some­thing like, “Viola! We did it!”?

Um, it’s pos­si­ble that these peo­ple didn’t get the word quite right. Betcha they meant “Voilà!“

1. A viola (vee-oh-lah) is a stringed instru­ment that is larger than a vio­lin and smaller than a ‘cello.


2. A viola (vye-oh-lah) is a tiny flower.


3. “Voilà!” (vwah-lah) is an inter­jec­tion that is “used to call atten­tion, to express sat­is­fac­tion or approval, or to sug­gest an appear­ance as if by magic.”

So if peo­ple can’t remem­ber if it’s “Viola” or “Voilà!” then per­haps they can shout, “Ta-da!”

Whatever works.