savoir-vivre

\sa.vwaʁ.vivʁ\

/\sa.vwaʁ.vivʁ\/ noun

The verdict

“savoir-vivre” 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) - Respect des règles d’usages du monde et des égards de politesse que les Hommes se doivent en société.

Corpus desk

Index FR-savoir-vivre · savoir-vivre · French

savoir-vivre · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 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-vivre
PropertyValue
Headwordsavoir-vivre
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\sa.vwaʁ.vivʁ\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

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

savoir-vivrereste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

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

Rare enough to double-check

savoir-vivre is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \sa.vwaʁ.vivʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Respect des règles d’usages du monde et des égards de politesse que les Hommes se doivent en société.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for savoir-vivre in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is savoir-vivre, spelled S-A-V-O-I-R---V-I-V-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Respect des règles d’usages du monde et des égards de politesse que les Hommes se doivent en société.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Madame de Chasteller se rapprocha du groupe de madame de Serpierre comme celle-ci continuait à très haute voix ses réflexions critiques et monarchiques. Cette critique amère fut brusquement coupée par les compliments fades et exagérés qui passent pour du savoir-vivre en province.
  2. Quelqu’un qui ne sait pas vivre, non pas comme l’entendent les gens du monde : quelqu’un qui manque de savoir-vivre, au sens absolu.

Synonyms

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-vivre"?
"savoir-vivre" is spelled S-A-V-O-I-R---V-I-V-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \sa.vwaʁ.vivʁ\.
What does "savoir-vivre" mean?
As a noun, "savoir-vivre" means: Respect des règles d’usages du monde et des égards de politesse que les Hommes se doivent en société.
How do you pronounce "savoir-vivre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "savoir-vivre" is \sa.vwaʁ.vivʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "savoir-vivre" come from?
"savoir-vivre" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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