avoir la dent

\a.vwaʁ la dɑ̃\

/\a.vwaʁ la dɑ̃\/ verb

The verdict

“avoir la dent” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Avoir faim.

Key facts for avoir la dent
PropertyValue
Headwordavoir la dent
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\a.vwaʁ la dɑ̃\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “avoir la dent” sits in French frequency

avoir la dent 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 avoir la dent is 13 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \a.vwaʁ la dɑ̃\. 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: "Avoir faim.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for avoir la dent, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No explicit etymology string is stored 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 avoir la dent, spelled A-V-O-I-R- -L-A- -D-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Avoir faim.

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 "avoir la dent"?
"avoir la dent" is spelled A-V-O-I-R- -L-A- -D-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \a.vwaʁ la dɑ̃\.
What does "avoir la dent" mean?
As a verb, "avoir la dent" means: Avoir faim.
How do you pronounce "avoir la dent"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "avoir la dent" is \a.vwaʁ la dɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "avoir la dent" come from?
"avoir la dent" 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 “avoir la dent”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is A-V-O-I-R- -L-A- -D-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \a.vwaʁ la dɑ̃\ (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