se passer de

verb

The verdict

“se passer de” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. 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) - Se priver ; s’abstenir.

Corpus desk

Index FR-se-passer-de · se passer de · French

se passer de · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-4 4 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 se passer de
PropertyValue
Headwordse passer de
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « se passer de » en français

se passer den'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

se passer de is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Se priver ; s’abstenir.".

se passer de doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is se passer de, spelled S-E- -P-A-S-S-E-R- -D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Se priver ; s’abstenir.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how se passer de appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Il serait donc oiseux de vouloir démontrer que le cheval peut se passer d’une habitation convenable et d’une hygiène bien entendue.
  2. J'admirai sa force d'âme car moi, je me sentais bien incapable de me passer de viande, de pain ou de vin.

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 "se passer de"?
"se passer de" is spelled S-E- -P-A-S-S-E-R- -D-E.
What does "se passer de" mean?
As a verb, "se passer de" means: Se priver ; s’abstenir.
What language does "se passer de" come from?
"se passer de" 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list