mardi gras

\maʁ.di ɡʁa\

/\maʁ.di ɡʁa\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Dernier jour du carnaval.

Corpus desk

Index FR-mardi-gras · mardi gras · French

mardi gras · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 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 mardi gras
PropertyValue
Headwordmardi gras
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\maʁ.di ɡʁa\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « mardi gras » en français

mardi grasn'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

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

Rare enough to double-check

mardi gras is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \maʁ.di ɡʁa\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for mardi gras, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is mardi gras, spelled M-A-R-D-I- -G-R-A-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Dernier jour du carnaval.
  2. 2
    Personne qui s’habille d’une façon ridicule évoquant l’idée d’un déguisement.
  3. 3
    Vacances scolaires en février.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Ma mère n’a pas eu le temps de m’enfermer. Je suis mon maître, un mardi gras ! Ce jour-là c’est la coutume que dans chaque rue on élève une pyramide de charbon, un bûcher en forme de meule, comme un gros bonnet de coton noir avec une mèche à laquelle on met le feu le matin.
  2. Un soir quelconque de mardi gras, le curé de Melotte, avec quelques amis, avait, comme tout le monde, un peu festoyé et mangé et bu un peu plus peut-être que de coutume.

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 "mardi gras"?
"mardi gras" is spelled M-A-R-D-I- -G-R-A-S. The IPA pronunciation is \maʁ.di ɡʁa\.
What does "mardi gras" mean?
As a noun, "mardi gras" means: Dernier jour du carnaval.
How do you pronounce "mardi gras"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mardi gras" is \maʁ.di ɡʁa\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "mardi gras" come from?
"mardi gras" 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