French dictionary

sous/su/

preposition / noun · A1 · Frequency 347

preposition

below, under
Indicates spatial position, meaning something is located beneath or lower than another object or standard.

Le chat dort sous la table.
The cat is sleeping under the table.
La température est tombée sous zéro cette nuit.
The temperature fell below zero last night.
Nous avons rangé les valises sous le lit.
We put the suitcases under the bed.

Il est sous la table avec ses chaussures.
Il est sous la table.
In French, 'sous' expresses static location only; it does not encode accompaniment or manner. Adding 'avec ses chaussures' is redundant and reflects L1 interference (e.g., Chinese 'wearing shoes under the table'). The prepositional phrase alone suffices for location.
Le livre est sous du sac.
Le livre est sous le sac.
'Sous' is followed by definite ('le/la/les') or indefinite articles ('un/une/des'), never partitive articles ('du/de la/des'). 'Sous du sac' is a frequent error arising from confusion with verbs requiring partitives (e.g., 'avoir besoin de').

preposition
Used as a preposition indicating spatial position, commonly collocated as in 'sous la table' (under the table).
plural of sou
Plural form of the old French currency unit 'sou', mostly used in historical or literary contexts.
money (slang)
Slang usage referring to money, common in spoken and informal contexts.

Le chat dort sous la table dans la cuisine.
The cat is sleeping under the table in the kitchen.
Dans ce vieux roman, il est question de plusieurs sous utilisés comme monnaie.
In this old novel, several sous are mentioned as currency.
Il n’a pas beaucoup de sous, alors il ne peut pas acheter ce cadeau.
He doesn't have much money, so he can't buy this gift.