cri-cri

\kʁi.kʁi\

/\kʁi.kʁi\/ noun

The verdict

“cri-cri” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Bruit du grillon et de la cigale.

Key facts for cri-cri
PropertyValue
Headwordcri-cri
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kʁi.kʁi\
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cri-cri” sits in French frequency

cri-cri 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 cri-cri is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \kʁi.kʁi\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

cri-cri doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is cri-cri, spelled C-R-I---C-R-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    Bruit du grillon et de la cigale.
  2. 2
    Le grillon lui-même.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cri-cri"?
"cri-cri" is spelled C-R-I---C-R-I. The IPA pronunciation is \kʁi.kʁi\.
What does "cri-cri" mean?
As a noun, "cri-cri" means: Bruit du grillon et de la cigale.
How do you pronounce "cri-cri"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cri-cri" is \kʁi.kʁi\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cri-cri" come from?
"cri-cri" 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.

Using “cri-cri”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-R-I---C-R-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \kʁi.kʁi\ (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