fondue

/ˈfɒndjuː/

//ˈfɒndjuː// noun

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

"fondue" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fondue” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #47,631. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#47,631
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A dish made of melted cheese, or chocolate etc., or of a boiling liquid into which food can be dipped.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fondue · fondue · English

fondue · rank #47,631 · 8 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #47,631
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH floater

Nearest frequency peer: floater (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “fondue”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “fondue” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

fondue vs foodie
67% similar
fondue vs fond
67% similar
fondue vs fonda
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for fondue
PropertyValue
Headwordfondue
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfɒndjuː/
Letters6
Frequency rank#47,631
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fondue”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).fonduelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “floater” (#47,630), “flippant” (#47,629), “fretted” (#47,633). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fondue” is #47,631. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around fondue (IPA /ˈfɒndjuː/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #47,631 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A dish made of melted cheese, or chocolate etc., or of a boiling liquid into which food can be dipped.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for fondue, with forms such as "ffondue", "fnodue", and "fodnue". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "foodie", "fond", "fonda", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from French fondue (“melted”), from fondre (“to melt”). The correct English form is fondue, spelled F-O-N-D-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A dish made of melted cheese, or chocolate etc., or of a boiling liquid into which food can be dipped.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how fondue appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. a Swiss fondue

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French fondue (“melted”), from fondre (“to melt”).

This word in other languages

fondue(Español)fondue(Français)Fondue(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffondue
  • fnodue
  • fodnue
  • fonddue
  • fondeu
  • fonndue
  • fonude
  • ofndue

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fondue - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ffondue1fnodue2fodnue2fonddue1fondeu2fonndue1fonude2ofndue2
Edit distance from "fondue"

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 "fondue"?
"fondue" is spelled F-O-N-D-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɒndjuː/.
What does "fondue" mean?
As a noun, "fondue" means: A dish made of melted cheese, or chocolate etc., or of a boiling liquid into which food can be dipped.
What words are commonly confused with "fondue"?
"fondue" is commonly confused with "foodie", "fond", "fonda". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fondue"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fondue" is /ˈfɒndjuː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "fondue"?
Unadapted borrowing from French fondue (“melted”), from fondre (“to melt”). 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "fondue", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

fidget#47,626fibula#47,625Galvin#47,638dozing#47,590

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Glick8 variantshereof8 variantsdisuse8 variantsIchiro8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list