au jus

/oʊ ʒu(s)/

//oʊ ʒu(s)// prep_phrase

"au-jus" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“au jus” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Prepared or served in or with gravy made from its own juices.

Corpus desk

Index EN-au-jus · au jus · English

au jus · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for au jus
PropertyValue
Headwordau jus
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPrep_phrase
IPA/oʊ ʒu(s)/
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “au jus” in English

au jusranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

au jus is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase, transcribed /oʊ ʒu(s)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Prepared or served in or with gravy made from its own juices.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for au jus in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from French au jus (“in the juice”). The correct English form is au jus, spelled A-U- -J-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Prepared or served in or with gravy made from its own juices.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how au jus appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. roast beef au jus

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French au jus (“in the juice”).

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "au jus"?
"au jus" is spelled A-U- -J-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /oʊ ʒu(s)/.
What does "au jus" mean?
As a prep_phrase, "au jus" means: Prepared or served in or with gravy made from its own juices.
How do you pronounce "au jus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "au jus" is /oʊ ʒu(s)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "au jus"?
Unadapted borrowing from French au jus (“in the juice”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list