crèche

/kɹɛʃ/

//kɹɛʃ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"creche" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“crèche” is uncommon English (frequency #86,182 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#86,182
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A representation of the nativity scene.

Corpus desk

Index EN-creche · crèche · English

crèche · rank #86,182 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #86,182
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH crosscountry

Nearest frequency peer: crosscountry (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “crèche”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “crèche” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for crèche
PropertyValue
Headwordcrèche
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɹɛʃ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#86,182
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “crèche” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).crèchefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “crosscountry” (#86,181), “Critchley” (#86,179), “cribbage” (#86,177). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “crèche” is #86,182. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

crèche is uncommon English at frequency #86,182 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /kɹɛʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for crèche in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from French crèche (“manger”), from Frankish *krippija, *kribbija, from Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ. Doublet of crib. Daycare meaning comes from recent use in France French (whereas in Canadian French garderie is used instead). The correct English form is crèche, spelled C-R-È-C-H-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A representation of the nativity scene.
  2. 2
    A day nursery.
  3. 3
    A hospital for orphaned infants; a foundling hospital.
  4. 4
    A group of young who stay together for protection.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how crèche appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. At last, all was complete. The creche at Greccio looked like a new Bethlehem. The baby Jesus would be placed in the manger at midnight Mass.
  2. They drop their two-year-old off at the crèche in the morning before they go to work.

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French crèche (“manger”), from Frankish *krippija, *kribbija, from Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ. Doublet of crib. Daycare meaning comes from recent use in France French (whereas in Canadian French garderie is used instead).

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "crèche"?
"crèche" is spelled C-R-È-C-H-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹɛʃ/.
What does "crèche" mean?
As a noun, "crèche" means: A representation of the nativity scene.
How do you pronounce "crèche"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "crèche" is /kɹɛʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "crèche"?
Unadapted borrowing from French crèche (“manger”), from Frankish *krippija, *kribbija, from Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ. Doublet of crib. Daycare meaning comes from recent use in France French (whereas in Canadian French garderie is used instead). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "crèche", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Crespi#86,176detent#86,206Colgan#86,155discal#86,213

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list