tambourin

\tɑ̃.bu.ʁɛ̃\

/\tɑ̃.bu.ʁɛ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“tambourin” is uncommon French (frequency #51,773 among 164,488 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,773
frequency rank, French
164,488
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Sorte de tambour moins large et plus long que le tambour ordinaire, sur lequel on bat avec une seule baguette et qu’on accompagne ordinairement avec une petite flûte, pour faire danser.

Key facts for tambourin
PropertyValue
Headwordtambourin
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\tɑ̃.bu.ʁɛ̃\
Letters9
Frequency rank#51,773
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tambourin” 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). tambourin 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

tambourin is uncommon French at frequency #51,773 among 164,488 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \tɑ̃.bu.ʁɛ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for tambourin, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is tambourin, spelled T-A-M-B-O-U-R-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sorte de tambour moins large et plus long que le tambour ordinaire, sur lequel on bat avec une seule baguette et qu’on accompagne ordinairement avec une petite flûte, pour faire danser.
  2. 2
    Sorte de petit tambour qui sert à lancer et à renvoyer une balle et qui est formé d’un cercle haut seulement de quelques centimètres et tendu de peau ou de toile d’un seul côté.
  3. 3
    Jeu de balle au tambourin, sport collectif impliquant deux équipes de cinq joueurs (ou deux équipes de trois joueurs, variante).
  4. 4
    Sorte de chapeau, proche du bibi ou de la toque, en forme de cylindre aplati.

Synonyms

tambour de basquepandero

This word in other languages

tambourine(English)pandereta(Español)Tamburin(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 "tambourin"?
"tambourin" is spelled T-A-M-B-O-U-R-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is \tɑ̃.bu.ʁɛ̃\.
What does "tambourin" mean?
As a noun, "tambourin" means: Sorte de tambour moins large et plus long que le tambour ordinaire, sur lequel on bat avec une seule baguette et qu’on accompagne ordinairement avec une petite flûte, pour faire danser.
How do you pronounce "tambourin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tambourin" is \tɑ̃.bu.ʁɛ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tambourin" come from?
"tambourin" 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.

Using “tambourin”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is T-A-M-B-O-U-R-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \tɑ̃.bu.ʁɛ̃\ (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