sauver la mise

\sɔ.ve.la.miz\

/\sɔ.ve.la.miz\/ verb

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

The verdict

“sauver la mise” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Aider quelqu’un dans une situation difficile, délicate, dangereuse.

Corpus desk

Index FR-sauver-la-mise · sauver la mise · French

sauver la mise · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" 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 sauver la mise
PropertyValue
Headwordsauver la mise
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\sɔ.ve.la.miz\
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sauver la mise” sits in French frequency

sauver la mise 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.

Rare enough to double-check

sauver la mise is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \sɔ.ve.la.miz\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for sauver la mise, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is sauver la mise, spelled S-A-U-V-E-R- -L-A- -M-I-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Aider quelqu’un dans une situation difficile, délicate, dangereuse.
  2. 2
    Éviter le pire.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sauver la mise"?
"sauver la mise" is spelled S-A-U-V-E-R- -L-A- -M-I-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is \sɔ.ve.la.miz\.
What does "sauver la mise" mean?
As a verb, "sauver la mise" means: Aider quelqu’un dans une situation difficile, délicate, dangereuse.
How do you pronounce "sauver la mise"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sauver la mise" is \sɔ.ve.la.miz\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sauver la mise" come from?
"sauver la mise" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.
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