à moins que

\a mwɛ̃ kə\

/\a mwɛ̃ kə\/ conj

The verdict

“à moins que” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a conjunction. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sauf si.

Corpus desk

Index FR-a-moins-que · à moins que · French

à moins que · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 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 moins que
PropertyValue
Headwordà moins que
LanguageFrench
Part of speechConjunction
IPA\a mwɛ̃ kə\
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « à moins que » en français

à moins quesiège 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 moins que is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as aconjunction, transcribed \a mwɛ̃ kə\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Sauf si.".

Zero misspellings are on record for à moins que in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is à moins que, spelled À- -M-O-I-N-S- -Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sauf si.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how à moins que appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Comme Tonsard, que son renom dispensait de toute preuve de férocité, comme tous ceux qui sont gardés par une opinion publique quelconque, Socquard ne déployait jamais sa triomphante force musculaire, à moins que des amis ne l’en priassent.
  2. Il est inutile de respecter les vivants, à moins qu’ils ne soient les plus forts. Dans ce cas, l’expérience conseille plutôt de lécher leurs bottes, fussent-elles merdeuses. Mais les morts doivent toujours être respectés.

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

How do you spell "à moins que"?
"à moins que" is spelled À- -M-O-I-N-S- -Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is \a mwɛ̃ kə\.
What does "à moins que" mean?
As a conjunction, "à moins que" means: Sauf si.
How do you pronounce "à moins que"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "à moins que" is \a mwɛ̃ kə\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "à moins que" come from?
"à moins que" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list