en dessous
To say underneath in French, use en dessous when no noun follows and sous directly before a noun. If unsure, use en dessous. Wiktionary also lists dessous.
Meaning: under, below, beneath (prep)
Ways to say it
| French | IPA |
|---|---|
| en dessous | |
| dessous | /də.su/ |
| sous | /su/ |
en dessous works as an adverb at the end of a phrase. sous is the everyday preposition, as in sous le lit, under the bed.
Which one should you use?
dessous alone means below or in a place beneath, and also refers to the underside or bottom of something. du dessous and d'en dessous work like adjectives meaning lower or the one below.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
To use en dessous with a noun, add de, giving en dessous de.
Did you know?
- In French, the phrase le dessous can refer to the hidden, secret side of a story or a person's private motives, rather than a physical location.
- While sous usually means 'under', in the phrase sous peu, it refers to time and means 'shortly' or 'soon'.
- In French clothing, a dessous can refer to 'undergarments' or 'underclothes', turning a positional word into a type of clothing.
Examples in context
- Qu'est-ce qu'il y a dessous ?What's underneath?dessous stands alone here because no noun follows it.Tatoeba #8682597 by Julien_PDC, translation #11784925 by doemaar14
- La souris a couru sous le lit.The mouse ran underneath the bed.sous le lit means under the bed.Tatoeba #1199246 by sacredceltic, translation #3344645 by pne
- Le vent souffle sous la porte.The wind is blowing underneath the door.sous la porte means underneath the door.Tatoeba #1492949 by martin9, translation #11863358 by Lebensfreude
- J'ai glissé une note sous la porte pour le locataire.I slipped a note underneath the door for the tenant.
- Tes clés sont en dessous de la pile de livres.Your keys are underneath the stack of books.
- sous la surfaceUnder the surface
- 14 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Nathan is looking for a lost pen in the living room.
- NathanOù est mon stylo ?Where is my pen?
- LéaRegarde en dessous du canapé.Look underneath the sofa.
- NathanAh, je le vois maintenant !Ah, I see it now!
- LéaIl était bien caché en dessous.It was well hidden underneath.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “underneath” translations and entries dessous, sous, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
