tenir sur ses jambes

\tə.niʁ syʁ sɛ ʒɑ̃b\

/\tə.niʁ syʁ sɛ ʒɑ̃b\/ verb

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

The verdict

“tenir sur ses jambes” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
20
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Être capable de se tenir physiquement debout.

Key facts for tenir sur ses jambes
PropertyValue
Headwordtenir sur ses jambes
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\tə.niʁ syʁ sɛ ʒɑ̃b\
Letters20
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tenir sur ses jambes” sits in French frequency

tenir sur ses jambes 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.

Rare enough to double-check

tenir sur ses jambes is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \tə.niʁ syʁ sɛ ʒɑ̃b\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for tenir sur ses jambes in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is tenir sur ses jambes, spelled T-E-N-I-R- -S-U-R- -S-E-S- -J-A-M-B-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Être capable de se tenir physiquement debout.
  2. 2
    Être en équilibre.

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 "tenir sur ses jambes"?
"tenir sur ses jambes" is spelled T-E-N-I-R- -S-U-R- -S-E-S- -J-A-M-B-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is \tə.niʁ syʁ sɛ ʒɑ̃b\.
What does "tenir sur ses jambes" mean?
As a verb, "tenir sur ses jambes" means: Être capable de se tenir physiquement debout.
How do you pronounce "tenir sur ses jambes"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tenir sur ses jambes" is \tə.niʁ syʁ sɛ ʒɑ̃b\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tenir sur ses jambes" come from?
"tenir sur ses jambes" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “tenir sur ses jambes”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is T-E-N-I-R- -S-U-R- -S-E-S- -J-A-M-B-E-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \tə.niʁ syʁ sɛ ʒɑ̃b\ (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