sine qua non

[ˈsine ˈkwa ˈnõn]

/[ˈsine ˈkwa ˈnõn]/ phrase

The verdict

“sine qua non” is uncommon Spanish (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency Spanish
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Significa "sin la cual no" y se usa para referirse a condiciones o elementos indispensables, requisitos absolutos y obligatorios, reglas estrictas, etc. Puede usarse calificando a un sustantivo o c...

Corpus desk

Index ES-sine-qua-non · sine qua non · Spanish

sine qua non · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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 sine qua non
PropertyValue
Headwordsine qua non
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[ˈsine ˈkwa ˈnõn]
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cola larga: rango de “sine qua non” en español

sine qua nonno entra en el top 100.000 del español: zona de términos técnicos, arcaicos o escasos, el terreno típico de la doble comprobación.

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

Rare enough to double-check

sine qua non is uncommon Spanish outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [ˈsine ˈkwa ˈnõn]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Significa "sin la cual no" y se usa para referirse a condiciones o elementos indispensables, requisitos absolutos y obligatorios, reglas estrictas, etc. Puede usarse calificando a un sustantivo o c...".

No generated misspelling entries exist for sine qua non in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct Spanish form is sine qua non, spelled S-I-N-E- -Q-U-A- -N-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Significa "sin la cual no" y se usa para referirse a condiciones o elementos indispensables, requisitos absolutos y obligatorios, reglas estrictas, etc. Puede usarse calificando a un sustantivo o como sustantivo mismo. También puede decirse "conditio sine qua non"..

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Dejarse zurrar es la condición sine qua non para ingresar en esa banda clandestina.
  2. La locura es conditio sine qua non para que se produzca arte.

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 "sine qua non"?
"sine qua non" is spelled S-I-N-E- -Q-U-A- -N-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈsine ˈkwa ˈnõn].
What does "sine qua non" mean?
As a phrase, "sine qua non" means: Significa "sin la cual no" y se usa para referirse a condiciones o elementos indispensables, requisitos absolutos y obligatorios, reglas estrictas, etc. Puede usarse calificando a un sustantivo o c...
How do you pronounce "sine qua non"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sine qua non" is [ˈsine ˈkwa ˈnõn]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sine qua non" come from?
"sine qua non" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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