à ciel ouvert
\a sjɛ.l‿u.vɛʁ\
The verdict
“à ciel ouvert” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - En excavation sans voûte supérieure.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | à ciel ouvert |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | \a sjɛ.l‿u.vɛʁ\ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “à ciel ouvert” sits in French frequency
Rare enough to double-check
à ciel ouvert is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \a sjɛ.l‿u.vɛʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for à ciel ouvert, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is à ciel ouvert, spelled À- -C-I-E-L- -O-U-V-E-R-T.
Definition
- 1En excavation sans voûte supérieure.
- 2Sans être couvert par un toit.
- 3À l’extérieur, hors de la maison, hors d’un bâtiment.
- 4Dans une véranda, dans une pièce dont le plafond est en verre transparent ou n’existe plus.
- 5Sans rien cacher.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
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
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Using “à ciel ouvert”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is À- -C-I-E-L- -O-U-V-E-R-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \a sjɛ.l‿u.vɛʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.