couleur de peau

\ku.lœʁ də po\

/\ku.lœʁ də po\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Teinte extérieure visible de l’épiderme, déterminée par la présence de mélanine, de carotène et par la vascularisation, souvent utilisée comme critère social ou identitaire dans la perception des i...

Key facts for couleur de peau
PropertyValue
Headwordcouleur de peau
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ku.lœʁ də po\
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “couleur de peau” sits in French frequency

couleur de peau 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.

Rare enough to double-check

couleur de peau is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ku.lœʁ də po\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Teinte extérieure visible de l’épiderme, déterminée par la présence de mélanine, de carotène et par la vascularisation, souvent utilisée comme critère social ou identitaire dans la perception des i...".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for couleur de peau, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is couleur de peau, spelled C-O-U-L-E-U-R- -D-E- -P-E-A-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    Teinte extérieure visible de l’épiderme, déterminée par la présence de mélanine, de carotène et par la vascularisation, souvent utilisée comme critère social ou identitaire dans la perception des individus et des groupes.

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 "couleur de peau"?
"couleur de peau" is spelled C-O-U-L-E-U-R- -D-E- -P-E-A-U. The IPA pronunciation is \ku.lœʁ də po\.
What does "couleur de peau" mean?
As a noun, "couleur de peau" means: Teinte extérieure visible de l’épiderme, déterminée par la présence de mélanine, de carotène et par la vascularisation, souvent utilisée comme critère social ou identitaire dans la perception des i...
How do you pronounce "couleur de peau"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "couleur de peau" is \ku.lœʁ də po\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "couleur de peau" come from?
"couleur de peau" 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 “couleur de peau”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-O-U-L-E-U-R- -D-E- -P-E-A-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ku.lœʁ də po\ (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