oiseau de passage
The verdict
“oiseau de passage” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 17
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Oiseau qui, en certaines saisons, passe d'un pays dans un autre.
Corpus desk
Index FR-oiseau-de-passage · oiseau de passage · French
oiseau de passage · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 17 letters
- VOW-9 9 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "O" 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 | oiseau de passage |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 17 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « oiseau de passage » en français
Rare enough to double-check
oiseau de passage is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
oiseau de passage has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
No borrowing history is documented 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 oiseau de passage, spelled O-I-S-E-A-U- -D-E- -P-A-S-S-A-G-E.
Definition
- 1Oiseau qui, en certaines saisons, passe d'un pays dans un autre.
- 2Personne qui n’est en quelque lieu que pour peu de temps, qui ne fait qu’y passer.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how oiseau de passage appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Ce sont des oiseaux de passage qui se rapprochent du Nord lorsque la température de l'air y est un peu réchauffée, et qui retournent vers le Midi long-temps avant que les froids puissent les atteindre.
Aventuriers de tous horizons en quête de fortune, […], fugitifs cherchant à échapper à des ennuis […], insoumis préférant les hasards du vagabondage […]. Ces oiseaux de passage « ne cherchent rien tant qu'à éviter leur consulat et son registre d'immatriculation ».
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.