à Dieu ne plaise

\a djø nə plɛz\

/\a djø nə plɛz\/ phrase

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“à Dieu ne plaise” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Pourvu que cela n’advienne pas.

Key facts for à Dieu ne plaise
PropertyValue
Headwordà Dieu ne plaise
LanguageFrench
Part of speechPhrase
IPA\a djø nə plɛz\
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “à Dieu ne plaise” sits in French frequency

à Dieu ne plaise falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for à Dieu ne plaise is 16 letters long, classified as a phrase, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \a djø nə plɛz\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Pourvu que cela n’advienne pas.".

No misspelling variants are generated for à Dieu ne plaise in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is à Dieu ne plaise, spelled À- -D-I-E-U- -N-E- -P-L-A-I-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pourvu que cela n’advienne pas.

Synonyms

Dieu m’en garde

This word in other languages

God forbid(English)

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 Dieu ne plaise"?
"à Dieu ne plaise" is spelled À- -D-I-E-U- -N-E- -P-L-A-I-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is \a djø nə plɛz\.
What does "à Dieu ne plaise" mean?
As a phrase, "à Dieu ne plaise" means: Pourvu que cela n’advienne pas.
How do you pronounce "à Dieu ne plaise"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "à Dieu ne plaise" is \a djø nə plɛz\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "à Dieu ne plaise" come from?
"à Dieu ne plaise" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Using “à Dieu ne plaise”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is À- -D-I-E-U- -N-E- -P-L-A-I-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \a djø nə plɛz\ (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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list