sur les bords

\syʁ lɛ bɔʁ\

/\syʁ lɛ bɔʁ\/ adv

The verdict

“sur les bords” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as an adverb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Légèrement, un peu.

Key facts for sur les bords
PropertyValue
Headwordsur les bords
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\syʁ lɛ bɔʁ\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sur les bords” sits in French frequency

sur les bords 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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for sur les bords is 13 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \syʁ lɛ bɔʁ\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Légèrement, un peu.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for sur les bords, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, 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 any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is sur les bords, spelled S-U-R- -L-E-S- -B-O-R-D-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Légèrement, un peu.

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 "sur les bords"?
"sur les bords" is spelled S-U-R- -L-E-S- -B-O-R-D-S. The IPA pronunciation is \syʁ lɛ bɔʁ\.
What does "sur les bords" mean?
As an adverb, "sur les bords" means: Légèrement, un peu.
How do you pronounce "sur les bords"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sur les bords" is \syʁ lɛ bɔʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sur les bords" come from?
"sur les bords" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “sur les bords”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is S-U-R- -L-E-S- -B-O-R-D-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \syʁ lɛ bɔʁ\ (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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list