perce-neige

\pɛʁs.nɛʒ\

/\pɛʁs.nɛʒ\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Une des petites plantes bulbeuses de la famille des amaryllidacées à fleurs blanches, ainsi nommée parce qu’elle fleurit en hiver.

Corpus desk

Index FR-perce-neige · perce-neige · French

perce-neige · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" 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 perce-neige
PropertyValue
Headwordperce-neige
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pɛʁs.nɛʒ\
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « perce-neige » en français

perce-neigesiège 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

perce-neige is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \pɛʁs.nɛʒ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Une des petites plantes bulbeuses de la famille des amaryllidacées à fleurs blanches, ainsi nommée parce qu’elle fleurit en hiver.".

perce-neige doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is perce-neige, spelled P-E-R-C-E---N-E-I-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Une des petites plantes bulbeuses de la famille des amaryllidacées à fleurs blanches, ainsi nommée parce qu’elle fleurit en hiver.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. L’observateur rapporte qu'une paysanne ayant vendu des oignons de perce-neige en guise de ciboulette, toutes les personnes qui en mangèrent furent surprises de vomissement, qui n'eurent aucunes suites fâcheuses.
  2. lorsque, pour la première fois, la neige se mit à fondre (…) les perce-neige, çà et là, firent leur apparition par petits groupes.

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 "perce-neige"?
"perce-neige" is spelled P-E-R-C-E---N-E-I-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is \pɛʁs.nɛʒ\.
What does "perce-neige" mean?
As a noun, "perce-neige" means: Une des petites plantes bulbeuses de la famille des amaryllidacées à fleurs blanches, ainsi nommée parce qu’elle fleurit en hiver.
How do you pronounce "perce-neige"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "perce-neige" is \pɛʁs.nɛʒ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "perce-neige" come from?
"perce-neige" 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