critique
/kɹɪˈtiːk/
"critique" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“critique” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,156 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #9,156
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The art of criticism.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | critique |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kɹɪˈtiːk/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #9,156 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “critique” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for critique is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kɹɪˈtiːk/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,156 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for critique, with forms such as "ccritique", "cirtique", and "criitque". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from French critique, from New Latin critica (“critique”), feminine of criticus (“critical”); see critic. The correct English form is critique, spelled C-R-I-T-I-Q-U-E.
Definition
- 1The art of criticism.
- 2An essay in which another piece of work is criticized, reviewed, etc.
- 3A point made to criticize something.
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French critique, from New Latin critica (“critique”), feminine of criticus (“critical”); see critic.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccritique,cirtique,criitque,critiqeu,critiqque,critiuqe,critqiue,crittique,crritique,crtiique,rcitique
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of critique - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "critique"?
What does "critique" mean?
What are common misspellings of "critique"?
How do you pronounce "critique"?
What is the origin of the word "critique"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “critique”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-R-I-T-I-Q-U-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kɹɪˈtiːk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.