tenir bon
\tə.niʁ bɔ̃\
The verdict
“tenir bon” 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
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Résister ; ne pas céder ; se défendre.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tenir bon |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | \tə.niʁ bɔ̃\ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tenir bon” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for tenir bon is 9 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \tə.niʁ bɔ̃\. 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.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for tenir bon, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is tenir bon, spelled T-E-N-I-R- -B-O-N.
Definition
- 1Résister ; ne pas céder ; se défendre.
- 2Continuer, persister.
Synonyms
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 “tenir bon”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is T-E-N-I-R- -B-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \tə.niʁ bɔ̃\ (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.