porte-malheur

\pɔʁ.tma.lœʁ\

/\pɔʁ.tma.lœʁ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“porte-malheur” 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) - Chose qu’une crainte superstitieuse fait regarder comme ayant le pouvoir d’amener la malchance.

Key facts for porte-malheur
PropertyValue
Headwordporte-malheur
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pɔʁ.tma.lœʁ\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “porte-malheur” sits in French frequency

porte-malheur 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

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

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for porte-malheur, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is porte-malheur, spelled P-O-R-T-E---M-A-L-H-E-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Chose qu’une crainte superstitieuse fait regarder comme ayant le pouvoir d’amener la malchance.
  2. 2
    Personne qu’une crainte superstitieuse fait regarder comme ayant le pouvoir d’amener la malchance.

Antonyms

porte-bonheur

This word in other languages

jinx(English)

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-malheur"?
"porte-malheur" is spelled P-O-R-T-E---M-A-L-H-E-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is \pɔʁ.tma.lœʁ\.
What does "porte-malheur" mean?
As a noun, "porte-malheur" means: Chose qu’une crainte superstitieuse fait regarder comme ayant le pouvoir d’amener la malchance.
How do you pronounce "porte-malheur"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "porte-malheur" is \pɔʁ.tma.lœʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "porte-malheur" come from?
"porte-malheur" 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 “porte-malheur”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-O-R-T-E---M-A-L-H-E-U-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pɔʁ.tma.lœʁ\ (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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list