à l’insu de

\a l‿ɛ̃.sy də\

/\a l‿ɛ̃.sy də\/ prep

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

The verdict

“à l’insu de” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a preposition. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Sans que la chose soit sue.

Key facts for à l’insu de
PropertyValue
Headwordà l’insu de
LanguageFrench
Part of speechPreposition
IPA\a l‿ɛ̃.sy də\
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “à l’insu de” sits in French frequency

à l’insu de 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.

Rare enough to double-check

à l’insu de is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as apreposition, transcribed \a l‿ɛ̃.sy də\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Sans que la chose soit sue.".

No misspelling variants are generated for à l’insu de in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is à l’insu de, spelled À- -L-’-I-N-S-U- -D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sans que la chose soit sue.

This word in other languages

unbeknown(English)a escondidas(Español)

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 l’insu de"?
"à l’insu de" is spelled À- -L-’-I-N-S-U- -D-E. The IPA pronunciation is \a l‿ɛ̃.sy də\.
What does "à l’insu de" mean?
As a preposition, "à l’insu de" means: Sans que la chose soit sue.
How do you pronounce "à l’insu de"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "à l’insu de" is \a l‿ɛ̃.sy də\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "à l’insu de" come from?
"à l’insu de" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 l’insu de”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is À- -L-’-I-N-S-U- -D-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \a l‿ɛ̃.sy də\ (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