French Conversation · Level 26
89 words
French word
sauf
Pronunciation
IPA/sof/
Meaning
- prepositionexcept
Example
Tout le monde est venu sauf Paul.
Everyone came except Paul.
More examples
Il mange de tout sauf les fruits de mer.
He eats everything except seafood.
Core concept
A group with one person or thing left outside its boundary.
Common phrases
tout sauf
everything except ___
sauf moi
except me
sauf le dimanche
except on Sundays
Similar words
sans: Indicating the absence of something or someone.
à part: Leaving a particular thing out of consideration.
hors: Outside a defined range or area.
à l'exception de: Excluding a specific thing as an exception.
Definition in French
Indique qu'une personne, une chose ou une circonstance est exclue d'un ensemble, équivalente à « à l'exception de ».
Word origin
French sauf comes through Old French from Latin salvus, meaning safe or unharmed, and developed an excluding sense for what remains untouched by an action or set.
Usage tips
- Sauf normally precedes a noun or noun phrase, while clauses use sauf que for an exception and sauf si for a condition.
Other meanings
- except thatconjunction
- safeadjective
Opposites
- y comprisincludingpreposition