nielle

\njɛl\

/\njɛl\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Adventice culturale, de la famille des Caryophyllacées et du genre Agrostemma, en raréfaction.

Corpus desk

Index FR-nielle · nielle · French

nielle · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "N" 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 nielle
PropertyValue
Headwordnielle
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\njɛl\
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « nielle » en français

niellesiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

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

Rare enough to double-check

nielle is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \njɛl\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

nielle doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is nielle, spelled N-I-E-L-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Adventice culturale, de la famille des Caryophyllacées et du genre Agrostemma, en raréfaction.
  2. 2
    Nigelle (Nigella arvensis).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. L’année d’avant, leur disait-on, rien n’avait poussé: […]. Et pendant l’hiver, ils mangeaient du son et des grains de nielle.
  2. Je veux simplement examiner la toxicité de certaines graines étrangères qui se trouvent mélangées à l’avoine en proportion parfois importante et auxquelles on attribue des propriétés toxiques : l’ivraie enivrante et la nielle.

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 "nielle"?
"nielle" is spelled N-I-E-L-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \njɛl\.
What does "nielle" mean?
As a noun, "nielle" means: Adventice culturale, de la famille des Caryophyllacées et du genre Agrostemma, en raréfaction.
How do you pronounce "nielle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nielle" is \njɛl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nielle" come from?
"nielle" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list