en chien
\ɑ̃ ʃjɛ̃\
The verdict
“en chien” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Abandonné ; laissé pour compte ; en difficulté.
Corpus desk
Index FR-en-chien · en chien · French
en chien · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "E" 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 | en chien |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | \ɑ̃ ʃjɛ̃\ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « en chien » en français
Rare enough to double-check
en chien is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \ɑ̃ ʃjɛ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for en chien in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is en chien, spelled E-N- -C-H-I-E-N.
Definition
- 1Abandonné ; laissé pour compte ; en difficulté.
- 2En manque ; frustré.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how en chien appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Un nouveau son qu’Abdoulaye passe en exclu, c’est pour les mecs en chiens, les exclus.
J’voulais sortir en perm, le procureur m’a dit « reste en chien ». […] J’voulais taffer sans diplôme et le gars m’a dit « reste en chien ».
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.