faux pas
/ˌfəʊ ˈpɑː/
"faux-pas" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“faux pas” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An embarrassing or tactless blunder.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | faux pas |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌfəʊ ˈpɑː/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “faux pas” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for faux pas is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌfəʊ ˈpɑː/. 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: "An embarrassing or tactless blunder.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for faux pas, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from French faux pas (“faux pas, blunder; misstep, false step”). The correct English form is faux pas, spelled F-A-U-X- -P-A-S.
Definition
- 1An embarrassing or tactless blunder.
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French faux pas (“faux pas, blunder; misstep, false step”).
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
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Using “faux pas”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-A-U-X- -P-A-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌfəʊ ˈpɑː/ (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.