-us

\ys\

/\ys\/ suffix

The verdict

“-us” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a suffix. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
3
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Suffixe servant à former des adjectifs à partir d’une base verbale ou nominale : -eux, -ant, -able, -ible.

Corpus desk

Index FR-us · -us · French

-us · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "-" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for -us
PropertyValue
Headword-us
LanguageFrench
Part of speechSuffix
IPA\ys\
Letters3
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « -us » en français

-usn'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

-us is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as asuffix, transcribed \ys\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

-us doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is -us, spelled --U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Suffixe servant à former des adjectifs à partir d’une base verbale ou nominale : -eux, -ant, -able, -ible.
  2. 2
    Suffixe servant à former des adjectifs à partir d’une base verbale ou nominale : -eux, -ant, -able, -ible.
  3. 3
    Suffixe servant à former des adjectifs à partir d’une base verbale ou nominale : -eux, -ant, -able, -ible.
  4. 4
    Suffixe servant à former des adjectifs à partir d’une base verbale ou nominale : -eux, -ant, -able, -ible.
  5. 5
    Suffixe servant à former des adjectifs à partir d’une base verbale ou nominale : -eux, -ant, -able, -ible.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Trouzus de trouzal (« bruire, faire du bruit ») : qui bruit, bruyant.
  2. Fonnus de fonnañ (« abonder ») : qui abonde, abondant.

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 "-us"?
"-us" is spelled --U-S. The IPA pronunciation is \ys\.
What does "-us" mean?
As a suffix, "-us" means: Suffixe servant à former des adjectifs à partir d’une base verbale ou nominale : -eux, -ant, -able, -ible.
How do you pronounce "-us"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "-us" is \ys\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "-us" come from?
"-us" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list