prendre souffle

\pʁɑ̃dʁ sufl\

/\pʁɑ̃dʁ sufl\/ verb

The verdict

“prendre souffle” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. 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) - Respirer profondément avant d'entreprendre un effort physique.

Corpus desk

Index FR-prendre-souffle · prendre souffle · French

prendre souffle · 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.

Key facts for prendre souffle
PropertyValue
Headwordprendre souffle
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\pʁɑ̃dʁ sufl\
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « prendre souffle » en français

prendre soufflesiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

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

Rare enough to double-check

prendre souffle is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \pʁɑ̃dʁ sufl\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Respirer profondément avant d'entreprendre un effort physique.".

No misspelling variants are generated for prendre souffle in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

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 prendre souffle, spelled P-R-E-N-D-R-E- -S-O-U-F-F-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Respirer profondément avant d'entreprendre un effort physique.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how prendre souffle appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Il secoua plusieurs fois la tête, bouche ouverte. Il prit profondément souffle et resta un moment strictement immobile. Puis il secoua de nouveau la tête, saisit le vélo et le jeta violemment contre le talus.

Synonyms

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 souffle"?
"prendre souffle" is spelled P-R-E-N-D-R-E- -S-O-U-F-F-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \pʁɑ̃dʁ sufl\.
What does "prendre souffle" mean?
As a verb, "prendre souffle" means: Respirer profondément avant d'entreprendre un effort physique.
How do you pronounce "prendre souffle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prendre souffle" is \pʁɑ̃dʁ sufl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "prendre souffle" come from?
"prendre souffle" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list