sous-tendre
\su.tɑ̃dʁ\
The verdict
“sous-tendre” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Prendre la position de la corde par rapport à son arc de cercle.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sous-tendre |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | \su.tɑ̃dʁ\ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sous-tendre” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for sous-tendre is 11 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \su.tɑ̃dʁ\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No misspelling variants are generated for sous-tendre in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is sous-tendre, spelled S-O-U-S---T-E-N-D-R-E.
Definition
- 1Prendre la position de la corde par rapport à son arc de cercle.
- 2Soutenir, être à la base d’une autre chose.
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
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Using “sous-tendre”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is S-O-U-S---T-E-N-D-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \su.tɑ̃dʁ\ (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.