carême-prenant

\ka.ʁɛm.pʁə.nɑ̃\

/\ka.ʁɛm.pʁə.nɑ̃\/ noun

The verdict

“carême-prenant” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Les trois jours gras qui précèdent immédiatement le mercredi des cendres.

Corpus desk

Index FR-careme-prenant · carême-prenant · French

carême-prenant · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" 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.

Key facts for carême-prenant
PropertyValue
Headwordcarême-prenant
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ka.ʁɛm.pʁə.nɑ̃\
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « carême-prenant » en français

carême-prenantn'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

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

Rare enough to double-check

carême-prenant is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ka.ʁɛm.pʁə.nɑ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for carême-prenant in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is carême-prenant, spelled C-A-R-Ê-M-E---P-R-E-N-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Les trois jours gras qui précèdent immédiatement le mercredi des cendres.
  2. 2
    Mardi-gras.
  3. 3
    Gens masqués et déguisés qui courent les rues pendant les jours gras.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Mais voici les jours gras. Si mal armés qu’on soit, on doit leur faire honneur. Le renom de la ville, le nôtre sont engagés. Que dirait-on de Clamecy, gloire des andouillettes, si Carême-prenant nous trouvait sans moutarde ?
  2. Pour ne pas traverser la ville en carême prenant, les comédiens avaient fait porter leurs habits au jeu de paume et les actrices s’accommodaient dans la salle que nous avons décrite.

Synonyms

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 "carême-prenant"?
"carême-prenant" is spelled C-A-R-Ê-M-E---P-R-E-N-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \ka.ʁɛm.pʁə.nɑ̃\.
What does "carême-prenant" mean?
As a noun, "carême-prenant" means: Les trois jours gras qui précèdent immédiatement le mercredi des cendres.
How do you pronounce "carême-prenant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "carême-prenant" is \ka.ʁɛm.pʁə.nɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "carême-prenant" come from?
"carême-prenant" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list