Regarde la voie, histoire de choisir les prises.

Regarde is the imperative form of regarder for tu.

So:

• tu regardes = you look / you are looking
• regarde ! = look!

In commands with tu, French -er verbs usually drop the final -s:

• Tu parles → Parle !
• Tu regardes → Regarde !

If the speaker were talking to vous, it would be:

• Regardez la voie... = Look at the route...

Yes. Regarde is the command form used when speaking to one person with tu.

It suggests the speaker is talking informally to a single person, like a friend, teammate, or climbing partner.

If it were:

• Regardez → one person formally, or several people
• Regardons → let’s look

In general French, voie can mean things like way, track, lane, or route, depending on context.

In this sentence, because of les prises (holds), it is very likely climbing vocabulary. So la voie means the route or the climbing route.

That is more specific than just way in English.

French often uses an article where English might not.

So la voie means the route or the climbing route. The definite article la points to a specific route that both speaker and listener know from context.

French generally prefers:

• Regarde la voie rather than
• Regarde voie ❌

because countable nouns usually need an article.

Here, histoire de + infinitive is an idiomatic expression meaning something like:

• so as to
• just to
• with the idea of
• in order to (sometimes, though often less formal)

So:

• histoire de choisir les prises = just to choose the holds / so you can choose the holds

It often adds a slightly casual feeling, as if the action is being done for that practical purpose.

Not really in this sentence.

On its own, histoire usually means story or history, but in the expression histoire de + infinitive, it works as a fixed idiom and does not mean an actual story.

So you should learn histoire de here as a chunk, not word by word.

Examples:

• Je suis passé, histoire de dire bonjour. = I stopped by just to say hello.
• On part tôt, histoire d’éviter les bouchons. = We’re leaving early to avoid traffic.

Because the idiom is histoire de + infinitive.

So the structure is:

• histoire de + verb in the infinitive

Examples:

• histoire de voir
• histoire de comprendre
• histoire de choisir

If the next word begins with a vowel sound, de contracts:

• histoire d’éviter
• histoire d’arriver tôt

Choisir means to choose.

Les prises here most likely means the holds in climbing: the places where you put your hands or feet.

So choisir les prises means something like:

• choose the holds
• pick out which holds to use

It suggests looking at the route in advance to plan your movements.

Les prises means the holds—the holds on that route, understood from context.

French often uses the definite article when talking about a set of things that are specific in the situation.

So in climbing context:

• les prises = the holds on this route

If you said des prises, that would sound more like some holds, less specific.

No. Prise has several meanings depending on context.

It can mean things like:

• hold / grip
• socket / outlet (prise électrique)
• taking / capture
• other technical meanings

Here, because the sentence is about la voie, the climbing meaning hold is the natural one.

This is a good example of how context determines vocabulary meaning.

Not usually. A more natural translation would be:

• so you can choose the holds
• just to choose the holds
• in order to choose the holds

For choosing the holds sounds awkward in English here because histoire de expresses purpose, not a noun-like idea.

So it is better to think of it as:

• Look at the route, so you can choose the holds.

The comma separates the main command from the purpose phrase.

• Regarde la voie = main instruction
• histoire de choisir les prises = reason/purpose

It is a natural pause in writing, similar to English:

• Look at the route, so you can choose the holds.

The sentence could sometimes appear without a comma in informal writing, but with the comma it is very clear and natural.

A broad pronunciation guide would be:

Regarde la voie, histoire de choisir les prises
≈ ruh-GARD luh vwah, ee-STWAR duh shwah-ZEER lay preez

A few useful notes:

• regarde: the final -e is not strongly pronounced
• voie sounds roughly like vwah
• histoire begins with a vowel sound, so it links smoothly after voie
• prises sounds like preez, with the final -s silent

Depending on accent and speed, you may also hear natural linking and reduced vowels in connected speech.

It is fairly natural and conversational.

Reasons:

• Regarde uses tu, so it is informal
• histoire de is a common, slightly casual way to express purpose

A more neutral or formal way to express purpose would often use:

• pour + infinitive

For example:

• Regarde la voie pour choisir les prises.

That is grammatically fine, but histoire de sounds a bit more idiomatic and conversational here.