gauche

/ɡəʊʃ/

//ɡəʊʃ// adj

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

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

The verdict

“gauche” is uncommon English (frequency #51,132 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#51,132
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Awkward or lacking in social graces; bumbling; apt to make gaffes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gauche · gauche · English

gauche · rank #51,132 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #51,132
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH garuda

Nearest frequency peer: garuda (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “gauche”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “gauche” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for gauche
PropertyValue
Headwordgauche
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ɡəʊʃ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#51,132
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “gauche” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).gauchefalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “garuda” (#51,131), “gelatinous” (#51,134), “g'day” (#51,129). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gauche” is #51,132. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

gauche is uncommon English at frequency #51,132 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ɡəʊʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for gauche in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French gauche (“left, awkward”), from gauchir (“to veer, turn”), from Old French gaucher (“to trample, walk clumsily”), from Frankish *walkan (“to full, trample”), from Proto-Germanic *walkaną (“to full, roll up”). Akin to Old High German walc… The correct English form is gauche, spelled G-A-U-C-H-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Awkward or lacking in social graces; bumbling; apt to make gaffes.
  2. 2
    Skewed, not plane.
  3. 3
    Having a torsion angle of 60°.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Seeking by vulgar pomp and gauche display In 'good society', to make her way
  2. She looked a trifle gauche, it struck me; more like a country girl with the hoyden taming in her than the well-bred creature she is.

Etymology

Borrowed from French gauche (“left, awkward”), from gauchir (“to veer, turn”), from Old French gaucher (“to trample, walk clumsily”), from Frankish *walkan (“to full, trample”), from Proto-Germanic *walkaną (“to full, roll up”). Akin to Old High German walchan (“to knead”), Old English wealcian (“to roll up, curl”) and English walk, Old Norse valka (“to drag about”). More at walk.

Synonyms

gracelesstactlessunsophisticatedunpolishedgawky

Antonyms

adroit

This word in other languages

torpe(Español)gauche(Français)unbeholfen(Deutsch)

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 "gauche"?
"gauche" is spelled G-A-U-C-H-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡəʊʃ/.
What does "gauche" mean?
As an adjective, "gauche" means: Awkward or lacking in social graces; bumbling; apt to make gaffes.
How do you pronounce "gauche"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gauche" is /ɡəʊʃ/. 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 "gauche"?
Borrowed from French gauche (“left, awkward”), from gauchir (“to veer, turn”), from Old French gaucher (“to trample, walk clumsily”), from Frankish *walkan (“to full, trample”), from Proto-Germanic *walkaną (“to full, roll up”). Akin to Old High G... 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 "gauche", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

garuda#51,131Furies#51,126flexor#51,117flecks#51,116

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list