auf dem Holzweg sein
\aʊ̯f deːm ˈhɔlt͡sveːk zaɪ̯n\
The verdict
“auf dem Holzweg sein” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 20
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Être dans l'impasse, se fourvoyer, se mettre le doigt dans l’œil.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | auf dem Holzweg sein |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | \aʊ̯f deːm ˈhɔlt͡sveːk zaɪ̯n\ |
| Letters | 20 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “auf dem Holzweg sein” sits in French frequency
Rare enough to double-check
auf dem Holzweg sein is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \aʊ̯f deːm ˈhɔlt͡sveːk zaɪ̯n\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Être dans l'impasse, se fourvoyer, se mettre le doigt dans l’œil.".
auf dem Holzweg sein doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is auf dem Holzweg sein, spelled A-U-F- -D-E-M- -H-O-L-Z-W-E-G- -S-E-I-N.
Definition
- 1Être dans l'impasse, se fourvoyer, se mettre le doigt dans l’œil.
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 “auf dem Holzweg sein”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is A-U-F- -D-E-M- -H-O-L-Z-W-E-G- -S-E-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \aʊ̯f deːm ˈhɔlt͡sveːk zaɪ̯n\ (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.