suif

\sɥif\

/\sɥif\/ noun

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

The verdict

“suif” is uncommon French (frequency #60,403 among 6,032 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,403
frequency rank, French
6,032
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Graisse de certains animaux, dont on se sert principalement pour faire des chandelles et des bougies.

Corpus desk

Index FR-suif · suif · French

suif · rank #60,403 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,403
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,032
  • PHOTO-FINISH succulente

Nearest frequency peer: succulente (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rangs de longue queue près de « suif »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « suif » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for suif
PropertyValue
Headwordsuif
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\sɥif\
Letters4
Frequency rank#60,403
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « suif » en français

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).suiftombe dans cette queue de rareté:

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

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Voisins rares de la même bande: « succulente » (#60,402), « substituent » (#60,401), « superlatifs » (#60,406). Parmi 6,032 lemmes en « S », « suif » est au #60,403. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

suif is uncommon French at frequency #60,403 among 6,032 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \sɥif\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for suif, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is suif, spelled S-U-I-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    Graisse de certains animaux, dont on se sert principalement pour faire des chandelles et des bougies.
  2. 2
    Argent.
  3. 3
    Grabuge.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Le suif de mouton mêlé à celui du bœuf, sert à faire des chandelles : on s'en sert pour les pommades & pour les onguents.
  2. Le battant s’ouvrit, et une vieille, protégeant d’une main sèche qui semblait prendre feu la flamme vacillante d’un suif, apparut dans toute l’horreur d’un négligé peu galant.

This word in other languages

tallow(English)sebo(Español)Talg(Deutsch)sebo(Português)

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 "suif"?
"suif" is spelled S-U-I-F. The IPA pronunciation is \sɥif\.
What does "suif" mean?
As a noun, "suif" means: Graisse de certains animaux, dont on se sert principalement pour faire des chandelles et des bougies.
How do you pronounce "suif"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "suif" is \sɥif\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "suif" come from?
"suif" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "suif", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

soil#60,384teri#60,427thau#60,430Scud#60,367

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list