ombres chinoises

\ɔ̃bʁ ʃi.nwaz\

/\ɔ̃bʁ ʃi.nwaz\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Sorte de théâtre qui consiste à projeter sur un écran des ombres produites par des silhouettes que l'on interpose dans le faisceau lumineux qui éclaire l’écran.

Key facts for ombres chinoises
PropertyValue
Headwordombres chinoises
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɔ̃bʁ ʃi.nwaz\
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ombres chinoises” sits in French frequency

ombres chinoises falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Rare enough to double-check

ombres chinoises is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ɔ̃bʁ ʃi.nwaz\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Sorte de théâtre qui consiste à projeter sur un écran des ombres produites par des silhouettes que l'on interpose dans le faisceau lumineux qui éclaire l’écran.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for ombres chinoises in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is ombres chinoises, spelled O-M-B-R-E-S- -C-H-I-N-O-I-S-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sorte de théâtre qui consiste à projeter sur un écran des ombres produites par des silhouettes que l'on interpose dans le faisceau lumineux qui éclaire l’écran.

Synonyms

théâtre d’ombres

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 "ombres chinoises"?
"ombres chinoises" is spelled O-M-B-R-E-S- -C-H-I-N-O-I-S-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is \ɔ̃bʁ ʃi.nwaz\.
What does "ombres chinoises" mean?
As a noun, "ombres chinoises" means: Sorte de théâtre qui consiste à projeter sur un écran des ombres produites par des silhouettes que l'on interpose dans le faisceau lumineux qui éclaire l’écran.
How do you pronounce "ombres chinoises"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ombres chinoises" is \ɔ̃bʁ ʃi.nwaz\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ombres chinoises" come from?
"ombres chinoises" 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.

Using “ombres chinoises”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is O-M-B-R-E-S- -C-H-I-N-O-I-S-E-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ɔ̃bʁ ʃi.nwaz\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list