retourner le fer dans la plaie

\ʁə.tuʁ.ne lə fɛʁ dɑ̃ la plɛ\

/\ʁə.tuʁ.ne lə fɛʁ dɑ̃ la plɛ\/ verb

The verdict

“retourner le fer dans la plaie” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
30
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Variante de tourner le fer dans la plaie.

Corpus desk

Index FR-retourner-le-fer-dans-la · retourner le fer dans la plaie · French

retourner le fer dans la plaie · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 30 letters
  • VOW-11 11 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "R" 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 retourner le fer dans la plaie
PropertyValue
Headwordretourner le fer dans la plaie
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ʁə.tuʁ.ne lə fɛʁ dɑ̃ la plɛ\
Letters30
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « retourner le fer dans la plaie » en français

retourner le fer dans la plaiereste 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

retourner le fer dans la plaie is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \ʁə.tuʁ.ne lə fɛʁ dɑ̃ la plɛ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Variante de tourner le fer dans la plaie.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for retourner le fer dans la plaie, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is retourner le fer dans la plaie, spelled R-E-T-O-U-R-N-E-R- -L-E- -F-E-R- -D-A-N-S- -L-A- -P-L-A-I-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Variante de tourner le fer dans la plaie.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how retourner le fer dans la plaie appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. L'avocat général, Olivier Auféril, a longuement retourné le fer dans la plaie, et détaillé sans vergogne les aveux de l'agrégé de géographie lors de sa garde à vue.

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 "retourner le fer dans la plaie"?
"retourner le fer dans la plaie" is spelled R-E-T-O-U-R-N-E-R- -L-E- -F-E-R- -D-A-N-S- -L-A- -P-L-A-I-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ʁə.tuʁ.ne lə fɛʁ dɑ̃ la plɛ\.
What does "retourner le fer dans la plaie" mean?
As a verb, "retourner le fer dans la plaie" means: Variante de tourner le fer dans la plaie.
How do you pronounce "retourner le fer dans la plaie"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "retourner le fer dans la plaie" is \ʁə.tuʁ.ne lə fɛʁ dɑ̃ la plɛ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "retourner le fer dans la plaie" come from?
"retourner le fer dans la plaie" 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