enfant naturel

\ɑ̃.fɑ̃ na.ty.ʁɛl\

/\ɑ̃.fɑ̃ na.ty.ʁɛl\/ noun

The verdict

“enfant naturel” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. 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) - Enfant né hors du mariage.

Corpus desk

Index FR-enfant-naturel · enfant naturel · French

enfant naturel · 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.

Key facts for enfant naturel
PropertyValue
Headwordenfant naturel
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɑ̃.fɑ̃ na.ty.ʁɛl\
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « enfant naturel » en français

enfant naturelreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

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

Rare enough to double-check

enfant naturel is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ɑ̃.fɑ̃ na.ty.ʁɛl\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Enfant né hors du mariage.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for enfant naturel, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

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 enfant naturel, spelled E-N-F-A-N-T- -N-A-T-U-R-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Enfant né hors du mariage.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how enfant naturel appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Il fallait se garder d'avoir affaire à lui, disaient-ils, parce qu'il était convaincu d'appartenir à la secte des illuminati. C'était un disciple de l’athée Weisshaupt, en politique un vrai jacobin, et de plus il traînait après lui un tas d’enfants naturels.
  2. Grégoire de Tours nous montre dans ses récits que les enfants naturels du Roi ont le même droit que les enfants légitimes; la succession de ces souverains se partage entre eux sans tenir compte spécialement de la légitimité de la naissance.

Synonyms

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 "enfant naturel"?
"enfant naturel" is spelled E-N-F-A-N-T- -N-A-T-U-R-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is \ɑ̃.fɑ̃ na.ty.ʁɛl\.
What does "enfant naturel" mean?
As a noun, "enfant naturel" means: Enfant né hors du mariage.
How do you pronounce "enfant naturel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "enfant naturel" is \ɑ̃.fɑ̃ na.ty.ʁɛl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "enfant naturel" come from?
"enfant naturel" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list