quatrain

\ka.tʁɛ̃\

/\ka.tʁɛ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“quatrain” is uncommon French (frequency #73,478 among 11,618 “Q” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#73,478
frequency rank, French
11,618
“Q” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Pièce de poésie qui contient quatre vers, dont les rimes sont ordinairement croisées.

Key facts for quatrain
PropertyValue
Headwordquatrain
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ka.tʁɛ̃\
Letters8
Frequency rank#73,478
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “quatrain” 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). quatrain lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

quatrain is uncommon French at frequency #73,478 among 11,618 “Q” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \ka.tʁɛ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for quatrain in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

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 quatrain, spelled Q-U-A-T-R-A-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pièce de poésie qui contient quatre vers, dont les rimes sont ordinairement croisées.
  2. 2
    Quatre vers qui font partie d’un sonnet, d’une stance, etc.

This word in other languages

quatrain(English)cuarteto(Español)Vierzeiler(Deutsch)

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 "quatrain"?
"quatrain" is spelled Q-U-A-T-R-A-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is \ka.tʁɛ̃\.
What does "quatrain" mean?
As a noun, "quatrain" means: Pièce de poésie qui contient quatre vers, dont les rimes sont ordinairement croisées.
How do you pronounce "quatrain"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "quatrain" is \ka.tʁɛ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "quatrain" come from?
"quatrain" 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 “quatrain”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is Q-U-A-T-R-A-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ka.tʁɛ̃\ (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

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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