terre à terre

\tɛ.ʁ‿a tɛʁ\

/\tɛ.ʁ‿a tɛʁ\/ adj

The verdict

“terre à terre” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui ne s’élève pas au-dessus des réalités de la vie pratique.

Corpus desk

Index FR-terre-a-terre · terre à terre · French

terre à terre · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" 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 terre à terre
PropertyValue
Headwordterre à terre
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\tɛ.ʁ‿a tɛʁ\
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “terre à terre” sits in French frequency

terre à terre falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Rare enough to double-check

terre à terre is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \tɛ.ʁ‿a tɛʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Qui ne s’élève pas au-dessus des réalités de la vie pratique.".

terre à terre doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is terre à terre, spelled T-E-R-R-E- -À- -T-E-R-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui ne s’élève pas au-dessus des réalités de la vie pratique.

Synonyms

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.

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 May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "terre à terre"?
"terre à terre" is spelled T-E-R-R-E- -À- -T-E-R-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \tɛ.ʁ‿a tɛʁ\.
What does "terre à terre" mean?
As an adjective, "terre à terre" means: Qui ne s’élève pas au-dessus des réalités de la vie pratique.
How do you pronounce "terre à terre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "terre à terre" is \tɛ.ʁ‿a tɛʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "terre à terre" come from?
"terre à terre" 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.
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