par-dessus tout
\paʁ.də.sy tu\
The verdict
“par-dessus tout” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 15
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Surtout ; principalement ; plus que tout le reste.
Corpus desk
Index FR-par-dessus-tout · par-dessus tout · French
par-dessus tout · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 15 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" 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 | par-dessus tout |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | \paʁ.də.sy tu\ |
| Letters | 15 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « par-dessus tout » en français
Rare enough to double-check
par-dessus tout is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \paʁ.də.sy tu\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Surtout ; principalement ; plus que tout le reste.".
No misspelling variants are generated for par-dessus tout in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. 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 par-dessus tout, spelled P-A-R---D-E-S-S-U-S- -T-O-U-T.
Definition
- 1Surtout ; principalement ; plus que tout le reste.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how par-dessus tout appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Je voulais par-dessus tout vivre quelque chose avec mes amis, une fois rendu en studio, pas étaler mes lumières.
Ces gens-là savent bien qu’ils sont exposés à des dommages-intérêts et même à la prison ; mais que leur importe ? ils ont changé d’habit, donné un faux nom et une fausse adresse et par-dessus tout ils sont insolvables.
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.