Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

déjà vu

/ˌdeɪ.ʒɑː ˈvuː/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.58 in modern English

Syllables: de-ja vu
IPA: /ˌdeɪ.ʒɑː ˈvuː/

15

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The subjective, unexpected feeling of having experienced something before, especially when that is not the case.

Uncountable

noun

Loosely or humorously, anything one has done before or is being repeated.

Uncountable

verb

To experience déjà vu; to see (something) as though having seen it before.

Colloquial; Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

"Why did some déjà vus pattern or pulse at certain peak moments and not others?"
"He had to get back. Soon. All these déjà vus were killing him."
"A few times she mentioned that she’d been having constant déjà vus. She hoped it wasn’t a symptom of a tumor or early-onset dementia."
"Have I done this before? Talk about déjà vu."
"Still deja vuing, I said, “Jinx. You owe me a Coke.”"
"Trees looked familiar, moments of landscape were perfectly déjà-vued."

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French déjà vu (literally “already seen”), coined by Émile Boirac in Revue philosophique de la France et de l'étranger, 1876.

Usage

Inflected Forms

déjà vus (plural) deja vu (alternative) dejavu (alternative) déjà vues (present, singular) déjà vuing (participle, present) déjà vued (participle, past) déjà vued (past)

Derived Forms

DjVu

Phrases

déjà entendu jamais vu presque vu

Frequently Paired Words

déjà entendu jamais vu presque vu

Synonyms

promnesia

Questions

How do you pronounce déjà vu?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌdeɪ.ʒɑː ˈvuː/.
What does déjà vu mean?: The subjective, unexpected feeling of having experienced something before, especially when that is not the case.
Where does déjà vu come from?: Unadapted borrowing from French déjà vu (literally “already seen”), coined by Émile Boirac in Revue philosophique de la France et de l'étranger, 1876.

How to pronounce déjà vu

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “déjà vu”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌdeɪ.ʒɑː ˈvuː/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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