prendre pied

\pʁɑ̃dʁ pje\

/\pʁɑ̃dʁ pje\/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“prendre pied” 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
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Commencer à s'établir solidement, à gagner la confiance.

Key facts for prendre pied
PropertyValue
Headwordprendre pied
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\pʁɑ̃dʁ pje\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “prendre pied” sits in French frequency

prendre pied 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 prendre pied is 12 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pʁɑ̃dʁ pje\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for prendre pied, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

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 prendre pied, spelled P-R-E-N-D-R-E- -P-I-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Commencer à s'établir solidement, à gagner la confiance.
  2. 2
    Investir un endroit.

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 "prendre pied"?
"prendre pied" is spelled P-R-E-N-D-R-E- -P-I-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is \pʁɑ̃dʁ pje\.
What does "prendre pied" mean?
As a verb, "prendre pied" means: Commencer à s'établir solidement, à gagner la confiance.
How do you pronounce "prendre pied"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prendre pied" is \pʁɑ̃dʁ pje\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "prendre pied" come from?
"prendre pied" 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 “prendre pied”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-R-E-N-D-R-E- -P-I-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pʁɑ̃dʁ pje\ (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