percer

\pɛʁ.se\

/\pɛʁ.se\/ verb

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

The verdict

“percer” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #9,053 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#9,053
frequency rank, French
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Traverser en faisant un trou ou une ouverture ; perforer.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

percer vs père
50% similar
percer vs perte
67% similar
percer vs pères
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for percer
PropertyValue
Headwordpercer
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\pɛʁ.se\
Letters6
Frequency rank#9,053
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “percer” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). percer lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for percer is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pɛʁ.se\. Corpus data places it at rank #9,053 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for percer, with forms such as "eprcer", "pecrer", and "perccer". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "père", "perte", "pères", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is percer, spelled P-E-R-C-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Traverser en faisant un trou ou une ouverture ; perforer.
  2. 2
    Faire plusieurs blessures avec une arme blanche.
  3. 3
    Mettre en perce, faire une ouverture à un tonneau, pour en tirer le vin.
  4. 4
    Pénétrer, passer à travers.
  5. 5
    Se faire entendre au loin.
  6. 6
    Pratiquer une ouverture.
  7. 7
    Pénétrer, découvrir par les yeux de l’esprit.
  8. 8
    Se faire ouverture, se frayer un passage.
  9. 9
    Faire une percée.
  10. 10
    Tirer de long.
  11. 11
    Se déceler, se manifester, se faire jour.
  12. 12
    Avancer dans une profession, dans le monde, acquérir de la réputation.
  13. 13
    Se manifester ; apparaître.

This word in other languages

punch(English)agujerear(Español)lochen(Deutsch)furar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: eprcer,pecrer,perccer,percerr,percre,perecr,perrcer,ppercer,precer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of percer - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

eprcer2pecrer2perccer1percerr1percre2perecr2perrcer1ppercer1
Edit distance from "percer"

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 "percer"?
"percer" is spelled P-E-R-C-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \pɛʁ.se\.
What does "percer" mean?
As a verb, "percer" means: Traverser en faisant un trou ou une ouverture ; perforer.
What words are commonly confused with "percer"?
"percer" is commonly confused with "père", "perte", "pères". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "percer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "percer" is \pɛʁ.se\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "percer" come from?
"percer" 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.

Using “percer”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-E-R-C-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pɛʁ.se\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “père” - see the side-by-side comparison. percer vs père
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list