donner la botte aux puces

\dɔ.ne la bɔ.t‿o pys\

/\dɔ.ne la bɔ.t‿o pys\/ verb

The verdict

“donner la botte aux puces” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
25
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Aller se coucher.

Corpus desk

Index FR-donner-la-botte-aux-puce · donner la botte aux puces · French

donner la botte aux puces · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 25 letters
  • VOW-9 9 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 donner la botte aux puces
PropertyValue
Headworddonner la botte aux puces
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\dɔ.ne la bɔ.t‿o pys\
Letters25
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « donner la botte aux puces » en français

donner la botte aux pucessiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

donner la botte aux puces is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \dɔ.ne la bɔ.t‿o pys\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Aller se coucher.".

donner la botte aux puces doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is donner la botte aux puces, spelled D-O-N-N-E-R- -L-A- -B-O-T-T-E- -A-U-X- -P-U-C-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Aller se coucher.

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 "donner la botte aux puces"?
"donner la botte aux puces" is spelled D-O-N-N-E-R- -L-A- -B-O-T-T-E- -A-U-X- -P-U-C-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is \dɔ.ne la bɔ.t‿o pys\.
What does "donner la botte aux puces" mean?
As a verb, "donner la botte aux puces" means: Aller se coucher.
How do you pronounce "donner la botte aux puces"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "donner la botte aux puces" is \dɔ.ne la bɔ.t‿o pys\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "donner la botte aux puces" come from?
"donner la botte aux puces" 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list