ambre gris

\ɑ̃.bʁə ɡʁi\

/\ɑ̃.bʁə ɡʁi\/ noun

The verdict

“ambre gris” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Concrétion qui se forme à l’intérieur des intestins du cachalot et qui a la consistance de la cire et une couleur cendrée, parsemée de taches jaunes et noirâtres et qui est utilisé en parfumerie.

Key facts for ambre gris
PropertyValue
Headwordambre gris
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɑ̃.bʁə ɡʁi\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ambre gris” sits in French frequency

ambre gris falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for ambre gris is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɑ̃.bʁə ɡʁi\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Concrétion qui se forme à l’intérieur des intestins du cachalot et qui a la consistance de la cire et une couleur cendrée, parsemée de taches jaunes et noirâtres et qui est utilisé en parfumerie.".

No misspelling variants are generated for ambre gris in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is ambre gris, spelled A-M-B-R-E- -G-R-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Concrétion qui se forme à l’intérieur des intestins du cachalot et qui a la consistance de la cire et une couleur cendrée, parsemée de taches jaunes et noirâtres et qui est utilisé en parfumerie.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ambre gris"?
"ambre gris" is spelled A-M-B-R-E- -G-R-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is \ɑ̃.bʁə ɡʁi\.
What does "ambre gris" mean?
As a noun, "ambre gris" means: Concrétion qui se forme à l’intérieur des intestins du cachalot et qui a la consistance de la cire et une couleur cendrée, parsemée de taches jaunes et noirâtres et qui est utilisé en parfumerie.
How do you pronounce "ambre gris"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ambre gris" is \ɑ̃.bʁə ɡʁi\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ambre gris" come from?
"ambre gris" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Using “ambre gris”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is A-M-B-R-E- -G-R-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ɑ̃.bʁə ɡʁi\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list