entre quatre yeux
\ɑ̃.tʁə ka.tʁə z‿jø\
The verdict
“entre quatre yeux” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 17
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - En tête à tête. On prononce \z\ pour l’euphonie. L’Académie française recommande cette orthographe, mais on peut écrire cette locution de différentes façons.
Corpus desk
Index FR-entre-quatre-yeux · entre quatre yeux · French
entre quatre yeux · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 17 letters
- VOW-8 8 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 | entre quatre yeux |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | \ɑ̃.tʁə ka.tʁə z‿jø\ |
| Letters | 17 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « entre quatre yeux » en français
Rare enough to double-check
entre quatre yeux is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \ɑ̃.tʁə ka.tʁə z‿jø\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "En tête à tête. On prononce \z\ pour l’euphonie. L’Académie française recommande cette orthographe, mais on peut écrire cette locution de différentes façons.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for entre quatre yeux, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, 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 easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is entre quatre yeux, spelled E-N-T-R-E- -Q-U-A-T-R-E- -Y-E-U-X.
Definition
- 1En tête à tête. On prononce \z\ pour l’euphonie. L’Académie française recommande cette orthographe, mais on peut écrire cette locution de différentes façons.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how entre quatre yeux appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Voyons, entre quatre yeux, est-ce donc une vertu si farouche ?
Dès le lendemain, elle prendrait Erwann entre quatre yeux.
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.