sous-merde

\su.mɛʁd\

/\su.mɛʁd\/ noun

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

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Personne totalement méprisable.

Corpus desk

Index FR-sous-merde · sous-merde · French

sous-merde · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 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 sous-merde
PropertyValue
Headwordsous-merde
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\su.mɛʁd\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sous-merde” sits in French frequency

sous-merde 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-merde is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \su.mɛʁd\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

sous-merde doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. 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 entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is sous-merde, spelled S-O-U-S---M-E-R-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Personne totalement méprisable.
  2. 2
    Objet, machine, ustensile, vêtement, livre, travail, etc. de très mauvaise qualité.

Synonyms

moins-que-rien

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sous-merde"?
"sous-merde" is spelled S-O-U-S---M-E-R-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is \su.mɛʁd\.
What does "sous-merde" mean?
As a noun, "sous-merde" means: Personne totalement méprisable.
How do you pronounce "sous-merde"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sous-merde" is \su.mɛʁd\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sous-merde" come from?
"sous-merde" 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.
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