savoir-faire

\sa.vwaʁ fɛʁ\

/\sa.vwaʁ fɛʁ\/ noun

The verdict

“savoir-faire” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Connaissance pratique d'un domaine.

Corpus desk

Index FR-savoir-faire · savoir-faire · French

savoir-faire · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 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 savoir-faire
PropertyValue
Headwordsavoir-faire
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\sa.vwaʁ fɛʁ\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « savoir-faire » en français

savoir-fairen'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

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

Rare enough to double-check

savoir-faire is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \sa.vwaʁ fɛʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Connaissance pratique d'un domaine.".

savoir-faire doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is savoir-faire, spelled S-A-V-O-I-R---F-A-I-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Connaissance pratique d'un domaine.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. La célèbre mirabelle de Lorraine est le fruit d’un savoir-faire ancestral qui respecte le rythme des saisons.
  2. Voilà un bel exemple du fait que le savoir-faire peut très bien précéder le savoir. C'est ainsi que l'on a inventé le levier bien avant qu'Archimède n'en explique le principe.

This word in other languages

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 "savoir-faire"?
"savoir-faire" is spelled S-A-V-O-I-R---F-A-I-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \sa.vwaʁ fɛʁ\.
What does "savoir-faire" mean?
As a noun, "savoir-faire" means: Connaissance pratique d'un domaine.
How do you pronounce "savoir-faire"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "savoir-faire" is \sa.vwaʁ fɛʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "savoir-faire" come from?
"savoir-faire" 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