rêche

\ʁɛʃ\

/\ʁɛʃ\/ adj

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

The verdict

“rêche” is uncommon French (frequency #81,539 among 5,742 “R” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#81,539
frequency rank, French
5,742
“R” headwords

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

Corpus desk

Index FR-reche · rêche · French

rêche · rank #81,539 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #81,539
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,742
  • PHOTO-FINISH samarra

Nearest frequency peer: samarra (+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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “rêche”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “rêche” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for rêche
PropertyValue
Headwordrêche
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ʁɛʃ\
Letters5
Frequency rank#81,539
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “rêche” 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). rêche 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

rêche is uncommon French at frequency #81,539 among 5,742 “R” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed \ʁɛʃ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for rêche in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is rêche, spelled R-Ê-C-H-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Rude au toucher.
  2. 2
    Âpre au goût.
  3. 3
    Rude, difficile à vivre (à propos des personnes ou de leur caractère).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Le marais prend dès la dernière grange : peu à peu, l'herbe devient plus rêche, des houppes laineuses y floconnent ; il y luit des nappes de joncs; la reine des prés, le glaïeul d'eau y buissonnent et, lentement, la sphaigne, la mousse décolorée, commence à régner.
  2. La colère avait empourpré la chair des cicatrices, mis en mouvement les sourcils rêches, les plis burinés, les lèvres massives.

This word in other languages

rough(English)rau(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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rêche"?
"rêche" is spelled R-Ê-C-H-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ʁɛʃ\.
What does "rêche" mean?
As an adjective, "rêche" means: Rude au toucher.
How do you pronounce "rêche"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rêche" is \ʁɛʃ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "rêche" come from?
"rêche" 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 "rêche", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

samus#81,542sciés#81,554Rodés#81,518Segré#81,562

What to do next

You've looked up "rêche". Here's where to go from here.

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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