pray

\ˈpɹeɪ\

/\ˈpɹeɪ\/ verb

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

The verdict

“pray” is uncommon French (frequency #60,293 among 6,826 “P” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,293
frequency rank, French
6,826
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Prier.

Corpus desk

Index FR-pray · pray · French

pray · rank #60,293 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,293
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,826
  • PHOTO-FINISH pourfendeur

Nearest frequency peer: pourfendeur (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rangs de longue queue près de « pray »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « pray » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pray
PropertyValue
Headwordpray
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ˈpɹeɪ\
Letters4
Frequency rank#60,293
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « pray » en français

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).praytombe dans cette queue de rareté:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Voisins rares de la même bande: « pourfendeur » (#60,292), « pondus » (#60,291), « prestement » (#60,295). Parmi 6,826 lemmes en « P », « pray » est au #60,293. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pray is uncommon French at frequency #60,293 among 6,826 “P” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed \ˈpɹeɪ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Prier.".

Zero misspellings are on record for pray in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is pray, spelled P-R-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Prier.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.
  2. So we pray to Him now for the vision to see our way clearly—to see the way that leads to a better life for ourselves and for all our fellow men—to the achievement of His will to peace on earth.

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 "pray"?
"pray" is spelled P-R-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈpɹeɪ\.
What does "pray" mean?
As a verb, "pray" means: Prier.
How do you pronounce "pray"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pray" is \ˈpɹeɪ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pray" come from?
"pray" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pray", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

PERT#60,270Raúl#60,326NATO#60,230Scud#60,367

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list