à cent pieds sous terre

\a sɑ̃ pje su tɛʁ\

/\a sɑ̃ pje su tɛʁ\/ adv

The verdict

“à cent pieds sous terre” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
23
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Là où l'on voudrait pouvoir se cacher à tout le monde, tant on est confus, honteux.

Corpus desk

Index FR-a-cent-pieds-sous-terre · à cent pieds sous terre · French

à cent pieds sous terre · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 23 letters
  • VOW-8 8 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "À" 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 à cent pieds sous terre
PropertyValue
Headwordà cent pieds sous terre
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\a sɑ̃ pje su tɛʁ\
Letters23
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « à cent pieds sous terre » en français

à cent pieds sous terresiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

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

Rare enough to double-check

à cent pieds sous terre is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \a sɑ̃ pje su tɛʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for à cent pieds sous terre, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is à cent pieds sous terre, spelled À- -C-E-N-T- -P-I-E-D-S- -S-O-U-S- -T-E-R-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Là où l'on voudrait pouvoir se cacher à tout le monde, tant on est confus, honteux.
  2. 2
    Là où l'on voudrait s'isoler du monde à cause de quelque grand sujet de chagrin, ou que l'on est dégoûté de la vie.
  3. 3
    Mort et enterré.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how à cent pieds sous terre appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Après un tel scandale, il voudrait se mettre à cent pieds sous terre.
  2. C’est une ultra enragée, qui voudrait voir à cent pieds sous terre tout ce qui a servi la patrie.

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 "à cent pieds sous terre"?
"à cent pieds sous terre" is spelled À- -C-E-N-T- -P-I-E-D-S- -S-O-U-S- -T-E-R-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \a sɑ̃ pje su tɛʁ\.
What does "à cent pieds sous terre" mean?
As an adverb, "à cent pieds sous terre" means: Là où l'on voudrait pouvoir se cacher à tout le monde, tant on est confus, honteux.
How do you pronounce "à cent pieds sous terre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "à cent pieds sous terre" is \a sɑ̃ pje su tɛʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "à cent pieds sous terre" come from?
"à cent pieds sous terre" is a French 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