matière grise
\ma.tjɛʁ ɡʁiz\
The verdict
“matière grise” 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) - Partie du système nerveux contenant les corps des neurones, par opposition à la matière blanche qui ne contient que leurs axones.
Corpus desk
Index FR-matiere-grise · matière grise · French
matière grise · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 13 letters
- VOW-6 6 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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | matière grise |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \ma.tjɛʁ ɡʁiz\ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « matière grise » en français
Rare enough to double-check
matière grise is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ma.tjɛʁ ɡʁiz\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Partie du système nerveux contenant les corps des neurones, par opposition à la matière blanche qui ne contient que leurs axones.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for matière grise in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is matière grise, spelled M-A-T-I-È-R-E- -G-R-I-S-E.
Definition
- 1Partie du système nerveux contenant les corps des neurones, par opposition à la matière blanche qui ne contient que leurs axones.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how matière grise appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Elle voulait devenir avocate, son crâne c’était un stock de matière grise ultravitaminée.
14 mars 1941 — C’est assez plaisant de gagner de l’argent sans être obligée de fournir de matière première autre que la matière grise, qui, elle, ne s’use pas si l’on s’en sert, au contraire.
Synonyms
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.