en main propre
\ɑ̃ mɛ̃ pʁɔpʁ\
The verdict
“en main propre” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Dans la main même de la personne intéressée.
Corpus desk
Index FR-en-main-propre · en main propre · French
en main propre · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 14 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "E" 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | en main propre |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | \ɑ̃ mɛ̃ pʁɔpʁ\ |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « en main propre » en français
Rare enough to double-check
en main propre is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \ɑ̃ mɛ̃ pʁɔpʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for en main propre in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is en main propre, spelled E-N- -M-A-I-N- -P-R-O-P-R-E.
Definition
- 1Dans la main même de la personne intéressée.
- 2Directement, de personne à personne, sans intermédiaire.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how en main propre appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Je lui ai remis cette lettre en main propre.
Mais Robert et sa mère craignent qu’après ma mort, Bourru ne brûle rien et les fasse chanter. J’ai pensé à cela aussi : je leur remettrai en main propre de quoi faire envoyer le dit Bourru aux galères, s’il bronche.
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.