être vivant

\ɛ.tʁə vi.vɑ̃\

/\ɛ.tʁə vi.vɑ̃\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Entité dont on considère qu'elle est animée par la vie.

Corpus desk

Index FR-etre-vivant · être vivant · French

être vivant · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "Ê" 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 être vivant
PropertyValue
Headwordêtre vivant
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɛ.tʁə vi.vɑ̃\
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « être vivant » en français

être vivantn'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

être vivant is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ɛ.tʁə vi.vɑ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Entité dont on considère qu'elle est animée par la vie.".

être vivant doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is être vivant, spelled Ê-T-R-E- -V-I-V-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Entité dont on considère qu'elle est animée par la vie.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Il n’y avait dans la cour, formée par quatre pauvres bâtiments, aucun être vivant, sinon les poules picorant le fumier qui, tout près de la bergerie, baignait dans un lit immonde de purin.
  2. Ces produits, appelés matières albuminoïdes ou substances protéiques, jouent un rôle essentiel dans le développement des êtres vivants : l'albumine de l'œuf, la fibrine du sang, la caséine du lait, le gluten de la farine appartiennent à ce groupe.

Synonyms

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 "être vivant"?
"être vivant" is spelled Ê-T-R-E- -V-I-V-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \ɛ.tʁə vi.vɑ̃\.
What does "être vivant" mean?
As a noun, "être vivant" means: Entité dont on considère qu'elle est animée par la vie.
How do you pronounce "être vivant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "être vivant" is \ɛ.tʁə vi.vɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "être vivant" come from?
"être vivant" 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