savoir

\sa.vwaʁ\

/\sa.vwaʁ\/ verb

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

The verdict

“savoir” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #251 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#251
frequency rank, French
6
letters
8
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Appréhender par l’esprit ou la connaissance ; connaître de façon certaine.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

savoir vs soir
67% similar
savoir vs savon
67% similar
savoir vs sévir
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for savoir
PropertyValue
Headwordsavoir
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\sa.vwaʁ\
Letters6
Frequency rank#251
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “savoir” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). savoir lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for savoir is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \sa.vwaʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #251 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for savoir, with forms such as "asvoir", "saovir", and "savior". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 15 confusable-pair relationships, "soir", "savon", "sévir", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored 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 savoir, spelled S-A-V-O-I-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Appréhender par l’esprit ou la connaissance ; connaître de façon certaine.
  2. 2
    Avoir dans la mémoire.
  3. 3
    Posséder quelque science, quelque art, être instruit, habile en quelque profession, en quelque exercice.
  4. 4
    Avoir l’esprit orné et rempli de choses utiles.
  5. 5
    Être accoutumé ou exercé à une chose, la bien faire.
  6. 6
    Avoir le pouvoir, la force, le moyen, l’adresse, l’habileté de faire quelque chose.
  7. 7
    Pouvoir.
  8. 8
    Pouvoir
  9. 9
    Apprendre, être instruit ou être informé de quelque chose.
  10. 10
    Être informé qu’une personne ou qu’une chose existe ou peut être trouvée.
  11. 11
    Connaître, reconnaître, distinguer.
  12. 12
    À savoir ; précède une explicitation par une énumération.

Synonyms

connaître

This word in other languages

know(English)saber(Español)wissen(Deutsch)saber(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: asvoir,saovir,savior,savoirr,savori,savvoir,ssavoir,svaoir

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of savoir - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

asvoir2saovir2savior2savoirr1savori2savvoir1ssavoir1svaoir2
Edit distance from "savoir"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "savoir"?
"savoir" is spelled S-A-V-O-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is \sa.vwaʁ\.
What does "savoir" mean?
As a verb, "savoir" means: Appréhender par l’esprit ou la connaissance ; connaître de façon certaine.
What words are commonly confused with "savoir"?
"savoir" is commonly confused with "soir", "savon", "sévir". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "savoir"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "savoir" is \sa.vwaʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "savoir" come from?
"savoir" 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.

Using “savoir”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is S-A-V-O-I-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \sa.vwaʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “soir” - see the side-by-side comparison. savoir vs soir
  • 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