de plain-pied

\də plɛ̃.pje\

/\də plɛ̃.pje\/ adv

The verdict

“de plain-pied” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. 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) - Sans monter ni descendre.

Corpus desk

Index FR-de-plain-pied · de plain-pied · French

de plain-pied · 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 "D" 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 de plain-pied
PropertyValue
Headwordde plain-pied
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\də plɛ̃.pje\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “de plain-pied” sits in French frequency

de plain-pied 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

de plain-pied is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \də plɛ̃.pje\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

de plain-pied doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, 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 de plain-pied, spelled D-E- -P-L-A-I-N---P-I-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sans monter ni descendre.
  2. 2
    Sans que cela souffre de difficulté.
  3. 3
    Directement, sans préambule.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Arrivé au bout du passage, il atteignit l’escalier, descendit les premières marches, et bientôt se trouva de plain-pied avec le cimetière de l’abbaye, […].
  2. Le jour finissait, et quelque fois c’était en pleine nuit que la marée du soir nous ramenait à la côte et nous déposait de plain-pied sur les galets.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "de plain-pied"?
"de plain-pied" is spelled D-E- -P-L-A-I-N---P-I-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is \də plɛ̃.pje\.
What does "de plain-pied" mean?
As an adverb, "de plain-pied" means: Sans monter ni descendre.
How do you pronounce "de plain-pied"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "de plain-pied" is \də plɛ̃.pje\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "de plain-pied" come from?
"de plain-pied" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.
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