statu quo

\sta.ty kwo\

/\sta.ty kwo\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - État d’immobilisme.

Corpus desk

Index FR-statu-quo · statu quo · French

statu quo · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 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 statu quo
PropertyValue
Headwordstatu quo
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\sta.ty kwo\
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « statu quo » en français

statu quosiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

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

Rare enough to double-check

statu quo is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \sta.ty kwo\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

statu quo doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is statu quo, spelled S-T-A-T-U- -Q-U-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    État d’immobilisme.
  2. 2
    État où les choses étaient précédemment.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Mais, au contraire, il s'aperçut vite que le système en vigueur avait pour but le maintien du statu quo.
  2. « Si vous n’avez rien de mieux à faire, dans trois mois à Paris ou à Londres, donnez-moi un petit coup de téléphone… J’aurai alors décidé si vraiment nous divorçons ou si nous prolongeons le statu quo d’une autre année. »

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 "statu quo"?
"statu quo" is spelled S-T-A-T-U- -Q-U-O. The IPA pronunciation is \sta.ty kwo\.
What does "statu quo" mean?
As a noun, "statu quo" means: État d’immobilisme.
How do you pronounce "statu quo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "statu quo" is \sta.ty kwo\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "statu quo" come from?
"statu quo" 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