qui vole un œuf vole un bœuf
\ki vɔ.l‿œ̃.n‿œf vɔ.l‿œ̃ bœf\
The verdict
“qui vole un œuf vole un bœuf” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 28
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) — Quiconque vole des objets de faible valeur finira par en voler de précieux.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | qui vole un œuf vole un bœuf |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Phrase |
| IPA | \ki vɔ.l‿œ̃.n‿œf vɔ.l‿œ̃ bœf\ |
| Letters | 28 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “qui vole un œuf vole un bœuf” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for qui vole un œuf vole un bœuf is 28 letters long, classified as a phrase, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ki vɔ.l‿œ̃.n‿œf vɔ.l‿œ̃ bœf\. 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.
No misspelling variants are generated for qui vole un œuf vole un bœuf in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct French form is qui vole un œuf vole un bœuf, spelled Q-U-I- -V-O-L-E- -U-N- -Œ-U-F- -V-O-L-E- -U-N- -B-Œ-U-F, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1Quiconque vole des objets de faible valeur finira par en voler de précieux.
- 2Interprétation plus vraisemblable : Peu importe la valeur de l’objet volé, dans le cas du bœuf et de l’œuf, ils privent les victimes de pitance dans les deux cas. Ce proverbe aborde le fait de punir un vol, et non pas de punir en fonction de la valeur de l'objet volé.
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.
Cite this page
Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:
PlainSpell, “qui vole un œuf vole un bœuf, French word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/fr/mot/qui-vole-un-uf-vole-un-b-uf
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "qui vole un œuf vole un bœuf"?
What does "qui vole un œuf vole un bœuf" mean?
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Using “qui vole un œuf vole un bœuf”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is Q-U-I- -V-O-L-E- -U-N- -Œ-U-F- -V-O-L-E- -U-N- -B-Œ-U-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \ki vɔ.l‿œ̃.n‿œf vɔ.l‿œ̃ bœf\ (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
Nearby French words
Other entries that begin with the letter Q in our French index: