danse macabre
\dɑ̃s ma.kabʁ\
The verdict
“danse macabre” 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 May 6, 2026) - Allégorie picturale fréquente au Moyen Âge, représentant la mort entraînant dans une même danse des squelettes d’êtres humains de toutes conditions.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | danse macabre |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \dɑ̃s ma.kabʁ\ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “danse macabre” sits in French frequency
Rare enough to double-check
danse macabre is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \dɑ̃s ma.kabʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Allégorie picturale fréquente au Moyen Âge, représentant la mort entraînant dans une même danse des squelettes d’êtres humains de toutes conditions.".
danse macabre has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is danse macabre, spelled D-A-N-S-E- -M-A-C-A-B-R-E.
Definition
- 1Allégorie picturale fréquente au Moyen Âge, représentant la mort entraînant dans une même danse des squelettes d’êtres humains de toutes conditions.
Synonyms
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
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Using “danse macabre”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is D-A-N-S-E- -M-A-C-A-B-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \dɑ̃s ma.kabʁ\ (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.