avoir la dent

\a.vwaʁ la dɑ̃\

/\a.vwaʁ la dɑ̃\/ verb

The verdict

“avoir la dent” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
13
letters

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

Corpus desk

Index FR-avoir-la-dent · avoir la dent · French

avoir la dent · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" 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 avoir la dent
PropertyValue
Headwordavoir la dent
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\a.vwaʁ la dɑ̃\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « avoir la dent » en français

avoir la dentn'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

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

Rare enough to double-check

avoir la dent is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \a.vwaʁ la dɑ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how avoir la dent appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. — Tu vas t’y servir, oui ou non ? J’ai la dent, moi, mon vieux. J’ai la dent…
  2. Elle tient à la main un plateau supportant un bol de café fumant, des toasts beurrés et un pot de confiture. Justement, j’ai la dent.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list