avoir un cheveu sur la langue

\a.vwa.ʁ‿œ̃ ʃə.vø syʁ la lɑ̃ɡ\

/\a.vwa.ʁ‿œ̃ ʃə.vø syʁ la lɑ̃ɡ\/ verb

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
29
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Zozoter ; zézayer.

Corpus desk

Index FR-avoir-un-cheveu-sur-la-l · avoir un cheveu sur la langue · French

avoir un cheveu sur la langue · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 29 letters
  • VOW-12 12 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 un cheveu sur la langue
PropertyValue
Headwordavoir un cheveu sur la langue
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\a.vwa.ʁ‿œ̃ ʃə.vø syʁ la lɑ̃ɡ\
Letters29
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « avoir un cheveu sur la langue » en français

avoir un cheveu sur la languesiège 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

avoir un cheveu sur la langue is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \a.vwa.ʁ‿œ̃ ʃə.vø syʁ la lɑ̃ɡ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Zozoter ; zézayer.".

No misspelling variants are generated for avoir un cheveu sur la langue in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is avoir un cheveu sur la langue, spelled A-V-O-I-R- -U-N- -C-H-E-V-E-U- -S-U-R- -L-A- -L-A-N-G-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Zozoter ; zézayer.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Pour ses contemporains, c'était un zozo. Un drôle d'oiseau ! Un original, comme on dit trivialement de quelqu'un, quand ses faits et gestes nous dépassent. Délicieux détail, Malcolm de Chazal avait un cheveu sur la langue, donc zozotait...

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 "avoir un cheveu sur la langue"?
"avoir un cheveu sur la langue" is spelled A-V-O-I-R- -U-N- -C-H-E-V-E-U- -S-U-R- -L-A- -L-A-N-G-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is \a.vwa.ʁ‿œ̃ ʃə.vø syʁ la lɑ̃ɡ\.
What does "avoir un cheveu sur la langue" mean?
As a verb, "avoir un cheveu sur la langue" means: Zozoter ; zézayer.
How do you pronounce "avoir un cheveu sur la langue"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "avoir un cheveu sur la langue" is \a.vwa.ʁ‿œ̃ ʃə.vø syʁ la lɑ̃ɡ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "avoir un cheveu sur la langue" come from?
"avoir un cheveu sur la langue" 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