joie de vivre

\ʒwa də vivʁ\

/\ʒwa də vivʁ\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Gaieté ou félicité profonde provenant du sentiment d’exister.

Corpus desk

Index FR-joie-de-vivre · joie de vivre · French

joie de vivre · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "J" 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 joie de vivre
PropertyValue
Headwordjoie de vivre
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ʒwa də vivʁ\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “joie de vivre” sits in French frequency

joie de vivre falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

joie de vivre is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ʒwa də vivʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Gaieté ou félicité profonde provenant du sentiment d’exister.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for joie de vivre, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is joie de vivre, spelled J-O-I-E- -D-E- -V-I-V-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Gaieté ou félicité profonde provenant du sentiment d’exister.

Antonyms

douleur de vivre

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "joie de vivre"?
"joie de vivre" is spelled J-O-I-E- -D-E- -V-I-V-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ʒwa də vivʁ\.
What does "joie de vivre" mean?
As a noun, "joie de vivre" means: Gaieté ou félicité profonde provenant du sentiment d’exister.
How do you pronounce "joie de vivre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "joie de vivre" is \ʒwa də vivʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "joie de vivre" come from?
"joie de vivre" 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.
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list