maigre comme une ficelle

\mɛɡʁ kɔ.m‿yn fi.sɛl\

/\mɛɡʁ kɔ.m‿yn fi.sɛl\/ adj

The verdict

“maigre comme une ficelle” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
24
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Excessivement maigre.

Corpus desk

Index FR-maigre-comme-une-ficelle · maigre comme une ficelle · French

maigre comme une ficelle · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 24 letters
  • VOW-10 10 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "M" 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 maigre comme une ficelle
PropertyValue
Headwordmaigre comme une ficelle
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\mɛɡʁ kɔ.m‿yn fi.sɛl\
Letters24
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « maigre comme une ficelle » en français

maigre comme une ficellereste 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

maigre comme une ficelle is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \mɛɡʁ kɔ.m‿yn fi.sɛl\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Excessivement maigre.".

Zero misspellings are on record for maigre comme une ficelle in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is maigre comme une ficelle, spelled M-A-I-G-R-E- -C-O-M-M-E- -U-N-E- -F-I-C-E-L-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Excessivement maigre.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how maigre comme une ficelle appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Ephraïm est devenu maigre comme une ficelle.

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 "maigre comme une ficelle"?
"maigre comme une ficelle" is spelled M-A-I-G-R-E- -C-O-M-M-E- -U-N-E- -F-I-C-E-L-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \mɛɡʁ kɔ.m‿yn fi.sɛl\.
What does "maigre comme une ficelle" mean?
As an adjective, "maigre comme une ficelle" means: Excessivement maigre.
How do you pronounce "maigre comme une ficelle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "maigre comme une ficelle" is \mɛɡʁ kɔ.m‿yn fi.sɛl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "maigre comme une ficelle" come from?
"maigre comme une ficelle" 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