savoir-faire
/ˌsævwɑːˈfɛə/
"savoir-faire" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“savoir-faire” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The ability to do or say what is appropriate for the occasion.
Corpus desk
Index EN-savoir-faire · savoir-faire · English
savoir-faire · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | savoir-faire |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌsævwɑːˈfɛə/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “savoir-faire” in English
Rare enough to double-check
savoir-faire is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌsævwɑːˈfɛə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The ability to do or say what is appropriate for the occasion.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for savoir-faire, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French savoir-faire (“know-how”), from savoir (“to know (how)”) + faire (“to do”). The correct English form is savoir-faire, spelled S-A-V-O-I-R---F-A-I-R-E.
Definition
- 1The ability to do or say what is appropriate for the occasion.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how savoir-faire appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Dr. Brighton-Pomfrey had the savoir-faire of a successful consultant; he prided himself on being all things to all men; but just for an instant he was at a loss what sort of thing he had to be here.
I am also deeply thankful to my editor Judy Knipe, whose savoir-faire and perfectionism gave the book its final polish and shape.
Etymology
Borrowed from French savoir-faire (“know-how”), from savoir (“to know (how)”) + faire (“to do”).
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.