bourré comme un cartable

\bu.ʁe kɔ.m‿œ̃ kaʁ.tabl\

/\bu.ʁe kɔ.m‿œ̃ kaʁ.tabl\/ adj

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

The verdict

“bourré comme un cartable” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
24
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Complètement ivre.

Key facts for bourré comme un cartable
PropertyValue
Headwordbourré comme un cartable
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\bu.ʁe kɔ.m‿œ̃ kaʁ.tabl\
Letters24
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bourré comme un cartable” sits in French frequency

bourré comme un cartable 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 bourré comme un cartable is 24 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \bu.ʁe kɔ.m‿œ̃ kaʁ.tabl\. 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: "Complètement ivre.".

bourré comme un cartable doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is bourré comme un cartable, spelled B-O-U-R-R-É- -C-O-M-M-E- -U-N- -C-A-R-T-A-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Complètement ivre.

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 "bourré comme un cartable"?
"bourré comme un cartable" is spelled B-O-U-R-R-É- -C-O-M-M-E- -U-N- -C-A-R-T-A-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \bu.ʁe kɔ.m‿œ̃ kaʁ.tabl\.
What does "bourré comme un cartable" mean?
As an adjective, "bourré comme un cartable" means: Complètement ivre.
How do you pronounce "bourré comme un cartable"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bourré comme un cartable" is \bu.ʁe kɔ.m‿œ̃ kaʁ.tabl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bourré comme un cartable" come from?
"bourré comme un cartable" 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 “bourré comme un cartable”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is B-O-U-R-R-É- -C-O-M-M-E- -U-N- -C-A-R-T-A-B-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \bu.ʁe kɔ.m‿œ̃ kaʁ.tabl\ (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