prendre des nouvelles

\pʁɑ̃.dʁə de nu.vɛl\

/\pʁɑ̃.dʁə de nu.vɛl\/ verb

The verdict

“prendre des nouvelles” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
21
letters

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

Corpus desk

Index FR-prendre-des-nouvelles · prendre des nouvelles · French

prendre des nouvelles · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 21 letters
  • VOW-7 7 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 prendre des nouvelles
PropertyValue
Headwordprendre des nouvelles
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\pʁɑ̃.dʁə de nu.vɛl\
Letters21
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « prendre des nouvelles » en français

prendre des nouvellesreste 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

prendre des nouvelles is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \pʁɑ̃.dʁə de nu.vɛl\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "S’informer.".

Zero misspellings are on record for prendre des nouvelles in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

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 prendre des nouvelles, spelled P-R-E-N-D-R-E- -D-E-S- -N-O-U-V-E-L-L-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    S’informer.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Ils ne prennent pas de nouvelles de leurs amis, des copains de fac, des anciens collègues. Ils trouvent des excuses pour qu’on ne vienne pas les voir.

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 "prendre des nouvelles"?
"prendre des nouvelles" is spelled P-R-E-N-D-R-E- -D-E-S- -N-O-U-V-E-L-L-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is \pʁɑ̃.dʁə de nu.vɛl\.
What does "prendre des nouvelles" mean?
As a verb, "prendre des nouvelles" means: S’informer.
How do you pronounce "prendre des nouvelles"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prendre des nouvelles" is \pʁɑ̃.dʁə de nu.vɛl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "prendre des nouvelles" come from?
"prendre des nouvelles" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list