nigger

\ˈnɪɡ.ɚ\

/\ˈnɪɡ.ɚ\/ noun

The verdict

“nigger” is uncommon French (frequency #96,178 among 1,563 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#96,178
frequency rank, French
1,563
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Noir, surtout Afro-Américain.

Corpus desk

Index FR-nigger · nigger · French

nigger · rank #96,178 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #96,178
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,563
  • PHOTO-FINISH niece

Nearest frequency peer: niece (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rangs de longue queue près de « nigger »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « nigger » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for nigger
PropertyValue
Headwordnigger
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ˈnɪɡ.ɚ\
Letters6
Frequency rank#96,178
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « nigger » en français

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).niggertombe dans cette queue de rareté:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Voisins rares de la même bande: « niece » (#96,177), « Niobé » (#96,180), « nichés » (#96,175). Parmi 1,563 lemmes en « N », « nigger » est au #96,178. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

nigger is uncommon French at frequency #96,178 among 1,563 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \ˈnɪɡ.ɚ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Noir, surtout Afro-Américain.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for nigger, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Our source data has no etymology on file 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 nigger, spelled N-I-G-G-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Noir, surtout Afro-Américain.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warn’t ever sorry for it afterwards, neither.
  2. You are not even niggers, you are Africans.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "nigger"?
"nigger" is spelled N-I-G-G-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈnɪɡ.ɚ\.
What does "nigger" mean?
As a noun, "nigger" means: Noir, surtout Afro-Américain.
How do you pronounce "nigger"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nigger" is \ˈnɪɡ.ɚ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nigger" come from?
"nigger" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "nigger", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list