porte-clé

\pɔʁ.tə.kle\

/\pɔʁ.tə.kle\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Gardien de prison qui porte les clés.

Corpus desk

Index FR-porte-cle · porte-clé · French

porte-clé · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 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 porte-clé
PropertyValue
Headwordporte-clé
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pɔʁ.tə.kle\
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « porte-clé » en français

porte-cléreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

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

Rare enough to double-check

porte-clé is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \pɔʁ.tə.kle\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for porte-clé, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is porte-clé, spelled P-O-R-T-E---C-L-É.

Definition

  1. 1
    Gardien de prison qui porte les clés.
  2. 2
    Anneau ou étui pour porter les clés.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Le docteur désigna la comtesse de Charny, et le directeur ordonna à un porte-clé de conduire le citoyen Gilbert à la chambre de la prisonnière.
  2. N’oublions pas que nous vivons l’ère du porte-clé. Cette profusion a rebuté les collectionneurs, car le vrai plaisir est de rechercher les pièces rares.

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 "porte-clé"?
"porte-clé" is spelled P-O-R-T-E---C-L-É. The IPA pronunciation is \pɔʁ.tə.kle\.
What does "porte-clé" mean?
As a noun, "porte-clé" means: Gardien de prison qui porte les clés.
How do you pronounce "porte-clé"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "porte-clé" is \pɔʁ.tə.kle\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "porte-clé" come from?
"porte-clé" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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