perdre la vie

\pɛʁdʁ la vi\

/\pɛʁdʁ la vi\/ verb

The verdict

“perdre la vie” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Mourir de manière accidentelle.

Key facts for perdre la vie
PropertyValue
Headwordperdre la vie
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\pɛʁdʁ la vi\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “perdre la vie” sits in French frequency

perdre la vie 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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for perdre la vie is 13 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pɛʁdʁ la vi\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Mourir de manière accidentelle.".

No misspelling variants are generated for perdre la vie in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

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 perdre la vie, spelled P-E-R-D-R-E- -L-A- -V-I-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mourir de manière accidentelle.

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 "perdre la vie"?
"perdre la vie" is spelled P-E-R-D-R-E- -L-A- -V-I-E. The IPA pronunciation is \pɛʁdʁ la vi\.
What does "perdre la vie" mean?
As a verb, "perdre la vie" means: Mourir de manière accidentelle.
How do you pronounce "perdre la vie"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "perdre la vie" is \pɛʁdʁ la vi\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "perdre la vie" come from?
"perdre la vie" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Using “perdre la vie”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is P-E-R-D-R-E- -L-A- -V-I-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pɛʁdʁ la vi\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list