dessous/də.su/
noun / adverb / preposition · B1 · Frequency 2544
nounmasculine
Meanings
underside; bottom
Refers to the lower part of an object.
(women's) underwear
Refers to close-fitting garments worn by women.
inside story; behind-the-scenes
Often in the plural: les dessous de ...
Examples
Le dessous de la table était couvert de poussière.
The underside of the table was covered in dust.
Après deux manches, notre équipe a pris le dessous.
After two rounds, our team fell behind.
Elle a choisi un dessous en coton pour la journée.
She chose a cotton undergarment for the day.
Cette offre généreuse cachait un dessous peu reluisant.
That generous offer concealed a rather un flattering hidden motive.
Collocations
- le dessous d'une tablethe underside of a table
- porter des dessousto wear underwear
- être en dessous dans une compétitionto be at a disadvantage in a competition
Common mistakes
Elle porte un dessous rouge.
Elle porte un dessous rouge à l'intérieur.
As a noun, dessous usually means underwear, but used alone it may be unclear and needs clarification.
Related words
adverb
Meanings
underneath; beneath
Used as an adverb indicating position below something, common in both spoken and written language.
Examples
Le chat s'est glissé dessous pour éviter le bruit.
The cat slipped underneath to avoid the noise.
La couverture est tombée, et le jouet se trouve dessous.
The blanket fell, and the toy is underneath.
Le câble passe dessous avant de rejoindre la prise.
The cable passes underneath before reaching the socket.
Collocations
- juste dessousjust below
Common mistakes
Le chat est juste desous.
Le chat est juste dessous.
“dessous” means “underneath” and is spelled with two s’s; “desous” is not the correct spelling.
Related words
preposition
Meanings
under; beneath
Used as a preposition indicating spatial relation, followed by a noun or pronoun.
underneath; below (adverb)
Used as an adverb indicating position below something, often used alone or with verbs.
Examples
Le chat dort dessous la table toute la journée.
The cat sleeps underneath the table all day.
Regarde, le livre est dessous.
Look, the book is underneath.
Collocations
- mettre quelque chose dessousto put something underneath
- regarder dessousto look underneath
Common mistakes
Il est dessous la table.
Il est sous la table.
Dessous as a preposition is not used to mean 'under'; use sous instead.
Le chat est dessous.
Le chat est en dessous.
Dessous as an adverb is usually used with the preposition en; using it alone is a common mistake.
Related words
Grammar note
As a preposition, dessous is followed by a noun phrase to indicate position; as an adverb, it is used alone to indicate position.