pour ainsi dire
\pu.ʁ‿ɛ̃.si diʁ\
The verdict
“pour ainsi dire” 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) - Quasiment.
Corpus desk
Index FR-pour-ainsi-dire · pour ainsi dire · French
pour ainsi dire · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 15 letters
- VOW-7 7 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 | pour ainsi dire |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | \pu.ʁ‿ɛ̃.si diʁ\ |
| Letters | 15 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « pour ainsi dire » en français
Rare enough to double-check
pour ainsi dire is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \pu.ʁ‿ɛ̃.si diʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Quasiment.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for pour ainsi dire, 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.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is pour ainsi dire, spelled P-O-U-R- -A-I-N-S-I- -D-I-R-E.
Definition
- 1Quasiment.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how pour ainsi dire appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Au retour je voulus voir Herculanum, cette ville que l'on venoit pour ainsi dire d’exhumer ; […].
Ce soc est fort petit, et le coutre qui ne fait qu'écorcher la terre , pour ainsi dire ; […].
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.