suffire

\sy.fiʁ\

/\sy.fiʁ\/ verb

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

The verdict

“suffire” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #12,678 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#12,678
frequency rank, French
7
letters
8
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Pouvoir satisfaire à quelque chose ou à un but donné.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

suffire vs suffixe
86% similar
suffire vs suffise
86% similar
suffire vs suffi
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for suffire
PropertyValue
Headwordsuffire
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\sy.fiʁ\
Letters7
Frequency rank#12,678
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “suffire” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). suffire lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for suffire is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \sy.fiʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #12,678 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for suffire, with forms such as "sfufire", "ssuffire", and "suffier". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "suffixe", "suffise", "suffi", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is suffire, spelled S-U-F-F-I-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pouvoir satisfaire à quelque chose ou à un but donné.
  2. 2
    Pouvoir subvenir, pouvoir satisfaire aux exigences de quelqu’un.
  3. 3
    Fournir assez, faire ce qui est nécessaire pour qu’une chose se réalise.
  4. 4
    Être à la cause de quelque chose ; déclencher ou conditionner un évènement.
  5. 5
    Ne plus être nécessaire de fournir ou de faire quelque chose ; dans une requête signalant à quelqu'un que les conditions nécessaires à une fin ont été atteintes ou que les exigences sont remplies.
  6. 6
    Ne plus être nécessaire de fournir ou de faire quelque chose ; dans une requête signalant à quelqu'un que les conditions nécessaires à une fin ont été atteintes ou que les exigences sont remplies.
  7. 7
    Être en suffisante quantité.
  8. 8
    Suffire à ses propres besoins, avoir ou gagner assez pour pourvoir à ses besoins.
  9. 9
    Trouver en soi le moyen de se passer des autres.

This word in other languages

suffice(English)bastar(Español)ausreichen(Deutsch)satisfazer(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: sfufire,ssuffire,suffier,suffirre,suffrie,sufifre,sufire,usffire

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of suffire - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

sfufire2ssuffire1suffier2suffirre1suffrie2sufifre2sufire1usffire2
Edit distance from "suffire"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "suffire"?
"suffire" is spelled S-U-F-F-I-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \sy.fiʁ\.
What does "suffire" mean?
As a verb, "suffire" means: Pouvoir satisfaire à quelque chose ou à un but donné.
What words are commonly confused with "suffire"?
"suffire" is commonly confused with "suffixe", "suffise", "suffi". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "suffire"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "suffire" is \sy.fiʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "suffire" come from?
"suffire" 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 “suffire”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is S-U-F-F-I-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \sy.fiʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “suffixe” - see the side-by-side comparison. suffire vs suffixe
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list