sous le vent

\su‿l vɑ̃\

/\su‿l vɑ̃\/ adv

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

The verdict

“sous le vent” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Se dit d’un navire qui reçoit le vent en second, par rapport à un autre navire.

Key facts for sous le vent
PropertyValue
Headwordsous le vent
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\su‿l vɑ̃\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sous le vent” sits in French frequency

sous le vent 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

sous le vent is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \su‿l vɑ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for sous le vent, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

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 sous le vent, spelled S-O-U-S- -L-E- -V-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Se dit d’un navire qui reçoit le vent en second, par rapport à un autre navire.
  2. 2
    En ayant le vent debout, venant de la direction opposée où l’on veut aller.
  3. 3
    Côte située du côté opposé d'où vient le vent.

Antonyms

au ventà contre-vent

This word in other languages

leeward(English)

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 "sous le vent"?
"sous le vent" is spelled S-O-U-S- -L-E- -V-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \su‿l vɑ̃\.
What does "sous le vent" mean?
As an adverb, "sous le vent" means: Se dit d’un navire qui reçoit le vent en second, par rapport à un autre navire.
How do you pronounce "sous le vent"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sous le vent" is \su‿l vɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sous le vent" come from?
"sous le vent" 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.

Using “sous le vent”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is S-O-U-S- -L-E- -V-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \su‿l vɑ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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