sel de mer

\sɛl də mɛʁ\

/\sɛl də mɛʁ\/ noun

The verdict

“sel de mer” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Chlorure de sodium quasiment pur obtenu par évaporation de l'eau de mer qui en contient une trentaine de grammes par litre

Corpus desk

Index FR-sel-de-mer · sel de mer · French

sel de mer · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" 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 sel de mer
PropertyValue
Headwordsel de mer
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\sɛl də mɛʁ\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « sel de mer » en français

sel de mersiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sel de mer is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \sɛl də mɛʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Chlorure de sodium quasiment pur obtenu par évaporation de l'eau de mer qui en contient une trentaine de grammes par litre".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for sel de mer, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is sel de mer, spelled S-E-L- -D-E- -M-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Chlorure de sodium quasiment pur obtenu par évaporation de l'eau de mer qui en contient une trentaine de grammes par litre

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Le sel de mer est produit par l'évaporation d'eau de mer, qui permet d'obtenir du chlorure de sodium (NaCl). L'iode étant volatil, il disparaît avec l'évaporation de l'eau. De nombreuses personnes pensent que le sel de mer est meilleur pour la santé parce qu'il est naturel et «non modifié» - ce qui est doublement fâcheux.

This word in other languages

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 "sel de mer"?
"sel de mer" is spelled S-E-L- -D-E- -M-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \sɛl də mɛʁ\.
What does "sel de mer" mean?
As a noun, "sel de mer" means: Chlorure de sodium quasiment pur obtenu par évaporation de l'eau de mer qui en contient une trentaine de grammes par litre
How do you pronounce "sel de mer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sel de mer" is \sɛl də mɛʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sel de mer" come from?
"sel de mer" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list