vif
French, noun/vif/
vif is spelled V-I-F (3 letters) and appears 14 times per million words in written French, the 5,025th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Vif is a French masculine noun meaning “flesh, living flesh” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Vivant”.
What does vif mean in English?
adjective
- 1
alive
mort ou vif
- 2
lively, brisk
- 3
vivid, bright
- 4
keen, sharp
- 5
poignant, cutting, sharp
- 6
sharp, jagged
- 7
acute, intense, strong
- 8
great, deep
noun
- 1
masculineobsoleteliving person
- 2
masculineflesh, living flesh
avoir les nerfs à vif
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. Qui est en vie. 2. Qualifie le tissu organique qui a gardé les propriétés vitales. 3. Qui a beaucoup de vigueur et d’activité, rapide. 4. Se dit d’une personne qui s’impatiente, qui s’emporte facilement.
noun: 1. Vivant. 2. Chair vive. 3. Point le plus intéressant, le plus important, le plus délicat, celui d’où dépend la solution, l'accord, le compromis. 4. Partie sensible de l’âme humaine.
noun: 1. Virus de l’immunodéficience féline. 2. Volontariat international de la francophonie. 3. Violence intra-familiale
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of vif
- vive feminine
- vifs masculine plural
- vives feminine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce vif?
- /vif/
- [vif]
- \vif\
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to vif
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is vif in French?
vif appears 14 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).