hérisser

^((h aspiré))\e.ʁi.se\

/^((h aspiré))\e.ʁi.se\/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Dresser ses cheveux, ses poils, ses plumes, en parlant de l’homme et des animaux.

Key facts for hérisser
PropertyValue
Headwordhérisser
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA^((h aspiré))\e.ʁi.se\
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hérisser” sits in French frequency

hérisser falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Rare enough to double-check

hérisser is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed ^((h aspiré))\e.ʁi.se\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 9 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for hérisser in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is hérisser, spelled H-É-R-I-S-S-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Dresser ses cheveux, ses poils, ses plumes, en parlant de l’homme et des animaux.
  2. 2
    Dresser ses cheveux, son poil, ses plumes.
  3. 3
    Se dit en parlant des cheveux, du poil, des plumes.
  4. 4
    Saillants, des pointes.
  5. 5
    Garnir une surface de choses en saillie, de pointes.
  6. 6
    Charger, truffer.
  7. 7
    S’élever, se dresser
  8. 8
    Irriter.
  9. 9
    se dit d’une personne dont la susceptibilité est facilement irritable.

This word in other languages

bristle(English)excitar(Español)ärgern(Deutsch)despentear(Português)

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 "hérisser"?
"hérisser" is spelled H-É-R-I-S-S-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is ^((h aspiré))\e.ʁi.se\.
What does "hérisser" mean?
As a verb, "hérisser" means: Dresser ses cheveux, ses poils, ses plumes, en parlant de l’homme et des animaux.
How do you pronounce "hérisser"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hérisser" is ^((h aspiré))\e.ʁi.se\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "hérisser" come from?
"hérisser" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “hérisser”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is H-É-R-I-S-S-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as ^((h aspiré))\e.ʁi.se\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list