pointer le bout de son nez

verb

The verdict

“pointer le bout de son nez” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
26
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Apparaître, se montrer, se faire voir.

Corpus desk

Index FR-pointer-le-bout-de-son-n · pointer le bout de son nez · French

pointer le bout de son nez · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 26 letters
  • VOW-9 9 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 pointer le bout de son nez
PropertyValue
Headwordpointer le bout de son nez
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
Letters26
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « pointer le bout de son nez » en français

pointer le bout de son nezsiège 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

pointer le bout de son nez is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Apparaître, se montrer, se faire voir.".

pointer le bout de son nez doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is pointer le bout de son nez, spelled P-O-I-N-T-E-R- -L-E- -B-O-U-T- -D-E- -S-O-N- -N-E-Z.

Definition

  1. 1
    Apparaître, se montrer, se faire voir.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how pointer le bout de son nez appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Au moment où la mort pointe le bout de son nez rongé, tout ressurgit, tout remonte à la surface. Comme les débris d’un naufrage.
  2. Elle avait même fait la fête avec eux, du temps où elle était célèbre, c’est-à-dire avant que je pointe le bout de mon nez et brise du même coup tous ses rêves.

Synonyms

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 "pointer le bout de son nez"?
"pointer le bout de son nez" is spelled P-O-I-N-T-E-R- -L-E- -B-O-U-T- -D-E- -S-O-N- -N-E-Z.
What does "pointer le bout de son nez" mean?
As a verb, "pointer le bout de son nez" means: Apparaître, se montrer, se faire voir.
What language does "pointer le bout de son nez" come from?
"pointer le bout de son nez" 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