avoir la langue fourchue
\a.vwaʁ la lɑ̃ɡ fuʁ.ʃy\
The verdict
“avoir la langue fourchue” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 24
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Ne pas avoir de parole, avoir l'habitude de mentir.
Corpus desk
Index FR-avoir-la-langue-fourchue · avoir la langue fourchue · French
avoir la langue fourchue · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 24 letters
- VOW-11 11 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | avoir la langue fourchue |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | \a.vwaʁ la lɑ̃ɡ fuʁ.ʃy\ |
| Letters | 24 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « avoir la langue fourchue » en français
Rare enough to double-check
avoir la langue fourchue is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \a.vwaʁ la lɑ̃ɡ fuʁ.ʃy\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Ne pas avoir de parole, avoir l'habitude de mentir.".
Zero misspellings are on record for avoir la langue fourchue in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is avoir la langue fourchue, spelled A-V-O-I-R- -L-A- -L-A-N-G-U-E- -F-O-U-R-C-H-U-E.
Definition
- 1Ne pas avoir de parole, avoir l'habitude de mentir.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how avoir la langue fourchue appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Certains s'opposent à l'idée d'une paix, d'autres veulent la prendre au sérieux, mais en définitive aucun accord n'est considéré possible par les Indiens locaux, pour qui les Sioux ont la langue fourchue. — (Gilles Havard, L'Amérique fantôme, Flammarion Québec, 2019, page 379)
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.