comme ci comme ça

adj

"comme-ci-comme-ca" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“comme ci comme ça” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
17
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Neither good nor bad; so so; tolerable, passable, indifferent.

Key facts for comme ci comme ça
PropertyValue
Headwordcomme ci comme ça
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters17
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “comme ci comme ça” sits in English frequency

comme ci comme ça falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English 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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for comme ci comme ça is 17 letters long, classified as an adjective. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Neither good nor bad; so so; tolerable, passable, indifferent.".

comme ci comme ça has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French comme ci comme ça (literally “like this like that”). The correct English form is comme ci comme ça, spelled C-O-M-M-E- -C-I- -C-O-M-M-E- -Ç-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Neither good nor bad; so so; tolerable, passable, indifferent.

Etymology

Borrowed from French comme ci comme ça (literally “like this like that”).

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 "comme ci comme ça"?
"comme ci comme ça" is spelled C-O-M-M-E- -C-I- -C-O-M-M-E- -Ç-A.
What does "comme ci comme ça" mean?
As an adjective, "comme ci comme ça" means: Neither good nor bad; so so; tolerable, passable, indifferent.
What is the origin of the word "comme ci comme ça"?
Borrowed from French comme ci comme ça (literally “like this like that”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 “comme ci comme ça”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is C-O-M-M-E- -C-I- -C-O-M-M-E- -Ç-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list