bon à rien
\bɔ̃ a ʁjɛ̃\
The verdict
“bon à rien” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 10
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qui est incapable de réussir quoi que ce soit.
Corpus desk
Index FR-bon-a-rien · bon à rien · French
bon à rien · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bon à rien |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | \bɔ̃ a ʁjɛ̃\ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « bon à rien » en français
Rare enough to double-check
bon à rien is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \bɔ̃ a ʁjɛ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Qui est incapable de réussir quoi que ce soit.".
bon à rien doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is bon à rien, spelled B-O-N- -À- -R-I-E-N.
Definition
- 1Qui est incapable de réussir quoi que ce soit.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how bon à rien appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Cette infécondité, qui, de mois en mois, lui fit verser des torrents de larmes, entretint longtemps le mépris de Brigitte, qui lui reprochait de n’être bonne à rien, pas même à faire des enfants.
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.