clair de lune
\klɛʁ də lyn\
The verdict
“clair de lune” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Clarté de la lune.
Corpus desk
Index FR-clair-de-lune · clair de lune · French
clair de lune · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 13 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | clair de lune |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \klɛʁ də lyn\ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « clair de lune » en français
Rare enough to double-check
clair de lune is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \klɛʁ də lyn\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
clair de lune has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is clair de lune, spelled C-L-A-I-R- -D-E- -L-U-N-E.
Definition
- 1Clarté de la lune.
- 2Tableau qui représente une vue prise au clair de la lune.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how clair de lune appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Hervé ne croyait pas aux fées, et du reste si, comme l’affirment les Cornouaillais, les fées se promènent au clair de lune sur les bruyères désertes, personne ne les a jamais vues naviguer.
Et plus haut, joyeusement gueulards, les chromos de M. Hugo d’Alési groupent quelques mules aux pieds légers dans des montagnes évidemment thermales, installent sur les routes auverpines de grands bœufs blancs tachés de ce que vous savez, et, sous d’obligeants clairs de lune, agenouillent des Bretons échappés du Pardon de Ploërmel aux seuils d'églises don…
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.