cis-

\sis\

/\sis\/ prefix

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
4
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Préfixe qui veut dire en deçà.

Corpus desk

Index FR-cis · cis- · French

cis- · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" 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 cis-
PropertyValue
Headwordcis-
LanguageFrench
Part of speechPrefix
IPA\sis\
Letters4
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « cis- » en français

cis-n'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

cis- is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as aprefix, transcribed \sis\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for cis-, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is cis-, spelled C-I-S--.

Definition

  1. 1
    Préfixe qui veut dire en deçà.
  2. 2
    Préfixe qui permet de créer des termes en rapport à la cisidentité.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Entre autres, le cissexisme est ancré dans la croyance que la cissexualité est une identité de genre supérieure et perpétue la notion selon laquelle le sexe assigné à la naissance détermine l’identité de genre d’une personne.
  2. La cisidentité est un néologisme désignant un type d’identité de genre où le genre ressenti d’une personne correspond au genre assigné à sa naissance, la personne est alors cisgenre (abrégé en cis). Le mot est construit par opposition à celui de transgenre.

Antonyms

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 "cis-"?
"cis-" is spelled C-I-S--. The IPA pronunciation is \sis\.
What does "cis-" mean?
As a prefix, "cis-" means: Préfixe qui veut dire en deçà.
How do you pronounce "cis-"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cis-" is \sis\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cis-" come from?
"cis-" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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