pourrir

\pu.ʁiʁ\

/\pu.ʁiʁ\/ verb

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

The verdict

“pourrir” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #13,871 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#13,871
frequency rank, French
7
letters
7
tracked misspellings
14
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Se décomposer, fermenter, s'altérer, se corrompre, se gâter sous l’action de bactéries.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

pourrir vs pouvoir
71% similar
pourrir vs pourris
86% similar
pourrir vs pourrit
86% similar

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

Key facts for pourrir
PropertyValue
Headwordpourrir
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\pu.ʁiʁ\
Letters7
Frequency rank#13,871
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs14
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pourrir” 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). pourrir 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 pourrir is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pu.ʁiʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #13,871 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for pourrir, with forms such as "opurrir", "porurir", and "pourirr". 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 14 confusable-pair relationships, "pouvoir", "pourris", "pourrit", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is pourrir, spelled P-O-U-R-R-I-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Se décomposer, fermenter, s'altérer, se corrompre, se gâter sous l’action de bactéries.
  2. 2
    Rester, croupir ou s'enfoncer dans un état de délabrement avancé.
  3. 3
    Subir une situation rappelant le fait de pourrir.
  4. 4
    Bourg pourri : voir à bourg.
  5. 5
    Pot pourri : voir à pot.
  6. 6
    Un temps pourri : un temps humide et malsain.
  7. 7
    Rendre très désagréable.
  8. 8
    Complètement gâté.
  9. 9
    Insulter, réprimander.
  10. 10
    Gâter, donner trop de quelque chose à quelqu’un.

This word in other languages

putrefy(English)pudrir(Español)faulen(Deutsch)gorar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: opurrir,porurir,pourirr,pourrirr,pourrri,ppourrir,puorrir

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pourrir - 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.

opurrir2porurir2pourirr2pourrirr1pourrri2ppourrir1puorrir2
Edit distance from "pourrir"

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 "pourrir"?
"pourrir" is spelled P-O-U-R-R-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is \pu.ʁiʁ\.
What does "pourrir" mean?
As a verb, "pourrir" means: Se décomposer, fermenter, s'altérer, se corrompre, se gâter sous l’action de bactéries.
What words are commonly confused with "pourrir"?
"pourrir" is commonly confused with "pouvoir", "pourris", "pourrit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pourrir"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pourrir" is \pu.ʁiʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pourrir" come from?
"pourrir" 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.

Using “pourrir”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-O-U-R-R-I-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pu.ʁiʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “pouvoir” - see the side-by-side comparison. pourrir vs pouvoir
  • 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