What does sauf in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word sauf in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use sauf in French.

The word sauf in French means except, bar, save, except, except that, safe, safe, your honor is intact, safe and sound, unless I hear otherwise, barring mishaps, barring unforeseen circumstances, barring problems, barring hitches, unless I am mistaken, with some exceptions, in the absence of unexpected circumstances, unless otherwise stated, unless, with respect, safe conduct. To learn more, please see the details below.

Listen to pronunciation

Meaning of the word sauf

except

préposition (à l'exception de)

(preposition: Relates noun or pronoun to another element of sentence--for example, "a picture of John," "She walked from my house to yours.")
J'ai tous les Tintin sauf le premier.
I have all of the Tintin books except the first one.

bar, save

préposition (à moins de [qch])

(preposition: Relates noun or pronoun to another element of sentence--for example, "a picture of John," "She walked from my house to yours.")
Le compte y est, sauf erreur.
The tally is right, bar an error.

except, except that

locution conjonction (excepté que)

(conjunction: Connects words, clauses, and sentences--for example, "and," "but," "because," "in order that.")
Je veux bien aller le chercher sauf que je ne sais pas où !
I would be happy to go and fetch him except that I don't know where from!

safe

adjectif (sauvé, intact)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Tout est perdu mais l'honneur est sauf.
Everything is lost but our honor is safe.

safe

adjectif (en vie)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")
On a retrouvé la disparue saine et sauve.
We found the missing person safe and sound.

your honor is intact

nom masculin (le principal est préservé) (US)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Nous avons peut-être tout perdu dans cette affaire mais l'honneur est sauf.
We may have lost everything in this business, but our honour is intact.

safe and sound

locution adjectivale (non blessé)

(adjective: Describes a noun or pronoun--for example, "a tall girl," "an interesting book," "a big house.")
L'enfant disparue a été retrouvée saine et sauve.

unless I hear otherwise

locution adverbiale (s'il n'y a pas d'opposition déclarée)

barring mishaps, barring unforeseen circumstances, barring problems, barring hitches

locution adverbiale (normalement)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Je serai présent dès jeudi sauf empêchement.
I will be there from Thursday, unless I run into problems.

unless I am mistaken

locution adverbiale (si je ne me trompe pas)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Sauf erreur de ma part, vous étiez absent lors de notre dernière réunion.

with some exceptions

locution adverbiale (hormis quelques cas)

in the absence of unexpected circumstances

locution adverbiale (si tout va bien)

unless otherwise stated

(uniquement si nécessaire)

unless

locution conjonction (excepté si)

(conjunction: Connects words, clauses, and sentences--for example, "and," "but," "because," "in order that.")
Nous camperons dans le jardin, sauf s'il pleut.

with respect

locution adverbiale (je tiens à dire que)

safe conduct

nom masculin (laisser-passer)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le général a remis un sauf-conduit au plénipotentiaire ennemi.

Let's learn French

So now that you know more about the meaning of sauf in French, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in French.

Do you know about French

French (le français) is a Romance language. Like Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, it comes from popular Latin, once used in the Roman Empire. A French-speaking person or country can be called a "Francophone". French is the official language in 29 countries. French is the fourth most spoken native language in the European Union. French ranks third in the EU, after English and German, and is the second most widely taught language after English. The majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa, with about 141 million Africans from 34 countries and territories who can speak French as a first or second language. French is the second most widely spoken language in Canada, after English, and both are official languages at the federal level. It is the first language of 9.5 million people or 29% and the second language of 2.07 million people or 6% of the entire population of Canada. In contrast to other continents, French has no popularity in Asia. Currently, no country in Asia recognizes French as an official language.