perce-oreille

\pɛʁ.sɔ.ʁɛj\

/\pɛʁ.sɔ.ʁɛj\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Nom vernaculaire de Forficula auricularia, insecte dont l’abdomen se termine par deux crochets ou cerques en forme de tenaille, mais bien incapables de percer une oreille.

Key facts for perce-oreille
PropertyValue
Headwordperce-oreille
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pɛʁ.sɔ.ʁɛj\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “perce-oreille” sits in French frequency

perce-oreille 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

perce-oreille is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \pɛʁ.sɔ.ʁɛj\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Nom vernaculaire de Forficula auricularia, insecte dont l’abdomen se termine par deux crochets ou cerques en forme de tenaille, mais bien incapables de percer une oreille.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for perce-oreille, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is perce-oreille, spelled P-E-R-C-E---O-R-E-I-L-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nom vernaculaire de Forficula auricularia, insecte dont l’abdomen se termine par deux crochets ou cerques en forme de tenaille, mais bien incapables de percer une oreille.

Synonyms

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-oreille"?
"perce-oreille" is spelled P-E-R-C-E---O-R-E-I-L-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \pɛʁ.sɔ.ʁɛj\.
What does "perce-oreille" mean?
As a noun, "perce-oreille" means: Nom vernaculaire de Forficula auricularia, insecte dont l’abdomen se termine par deux crochets ou cerques en forme de tenaille, mais bien incapables de percer une oreille.
How do you pronounce "perce-oreille"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "perce-oreille" is \pɛʁ.sɔ.ʁɛj\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "perce-oreille" come from?
"perce-oreille" 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 “perce-oreille”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-E-R-C-E---O-R-E-I-L-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pɛʁ.sɔ.ʁɛj\ (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