grain de café

\ɡʁɛ̃ də ka.fe\

/\ɡʁɛ̃ də ka.fe\/ noun

The verdict

“grain de café” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Graine du caféier.

Corpus desk

Index FR-grain-de-cafe · grain de café · French

grain de café · 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 "G" 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 grain de café
PropertyValue
Headwordgrain de café
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɡʁɛ̃ də ka.fe\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « grain de café » en français

grain de caféreste 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

grain de café is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ɡʁɛ̃ də ka.fe\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for grain de café, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

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 grain de café, spelled G-R-A-I-N- -D-E- -C-A-F-É.

Definition

  1. 1
    Graine du caféier.
  2. 2
    Petite porcelaine avec trois, voire quatre, tâches sombres sur la coquille. Commune dans l’Océan Atlantique, elle vit dans la zone de marée et les zones rocheuses (Trivia monacha).
  3. 3
    Clitoris.
  4. 4
    Grain de beauté.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Le fruit est une baie de la forme et du volume du cornouille ; d’abord d’un beau rouge vermeil, il prend une teinte brune lors de sa parfaite maturité. Son intérieur renferme deux graines accolées face à face, et chacune d’elles n’est autre chose que ce qu’on appelle couramment un grain de café. La récolte du café commence généralement en août et se termi…
  2. Je ne sortais jamais de chez Corcelet sans avoir pris un grain de café que je mâchais en chemin. Je me disais que c’était très bon et m’en croyais à demi. Je sentais intérieurement que c’était exécrable, mais n’étais pas encore capable de tirer au jour les vérités enfouies au dedans de moi-même.

Synonyms

fève de cafécochongrain de café tachetéporcelaine pucepucelage

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 "grain de café"?
"grain de café" is spelled G-R-A-I-N- -D-E- -C-A-F-É. The IPA pronunciation is \ɡʁɛ̃ də ka.fe\.
What does "grain de café" mean?
As a noun, "grain de café" means: Graine du caféier.
How do you pronounce "grain de café"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "grain de café" is \ɡʁɛ̃ də ka.fe\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "grain de café" come from?
"grain de café" 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