faire la nique

\fɛʁ la nik\

/\fɛʁ la nik\/ verb

The verdict

“faire la nique” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. 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) - Faire un signe de mépris à quelqu’un, le braver ou s’en moquer.

Corpus desk

Index FR-faire-la-nique · faire la nique · French

faire la nique · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-7 7 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" 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 faire la nique
PropertyValue
Headwordfaire la nique
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\fɛʁ la nik\
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « faire la nique » en français

faire la niquereste 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

faire la nique is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \fɛʁ la nik\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Faire un signe de mépris à quelqu’un, le braver ou s’en moquer.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for faire la nique in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology 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 faire la nique, spelled F-A-I-R-E- -L-A- -N-I-Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Faire un signe de mépris à quelqu’un, le braver ou s’en moquer.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Les clochers s’inclinaient sur le chemin creux pour le regarder passer, ils le montraient au doigt, lui faisaient la nique et lui tendaient par dérision leurs cadrans dont les aiguilles étaient perpendiculaires.
  2. Le négrillon se bourre de bonbons en me faisant la nique.

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

How do you spell "faire la nique"?
"faire la nique" is spelled F-A-I-R-E- -L-A- -N-I-Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is \fɛʁ la nik\.
What does "faire la nique" mean?
As a verb, "faire la nique" means: Faire un signe de mépris à quelqu’un, le braver ou s’en moquer.
How do you pronounce "faire la nique"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "faire la nique" is \fɛʁ la nik\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "faire la nique" come from?
"faire la nique" 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