poule de mer

\pul də mɛʁ\

/\pul də mɛʁ\/ noun

The verdict

“poule de mer” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Nom vernaculaire désignant en français plusieurs espèces de poissons différentes.

Key facts for poule de mer
PropertyValue
Headwordpoule de mer
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pul də mɛʁ\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “poule de mer” sits in French frequency

poule de mer 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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for poule de mer is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pul də mɛʁ\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Nom vernaculaire désignant en français plusieurs espèces de poissons différentes.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for poule de mer, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is poule de mer, spelled P-O-U-L-E- -D-E- -M-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nom vernaculaire désignant en français plusieurs espèces de poissons différentes.

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 "poule de mer"?
"poule de mer" is spelled P-O-U-L-E- -D-E- -M-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \pul də mɛʁ\.
What does "poule de mer" mean?
As a noun, "poule de mer" means: Nom vernaculaire désignant en français plusieurs espèces de poissons différentes.
How do you pronounce "poule de mer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "poule de mer" is \pul də mɛʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "poule de mer" come from?
"poule de mer" 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 “poule de mer”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-O-U-L-E- -D-E- -M-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pul də mɛʁ\ (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