gauche
/ɡəʊʃ/
"gauche" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gauche” is an uncommon English word, ranked #51,132 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #51,132
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Awkward or lacking in social graces; bumbling; apt to make gaffes.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | gauche |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ɡəʊʃ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #51,132 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “gauche” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for gauche is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡəʊʃ/. Corpus data places it at rank #51,132 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1Awkward or lacking in social graces; bumbling; apt to make gaffes.
- 2Skewed, not plane.
- 3Having a torsion angle of 60°.
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.
Antonyms
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); 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"?
What does "gauche" mean?
How do you pronounce "gauche"?
What is the origin of the word "gauche"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “gauche”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-A-U-C-H-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɡəʊʃ/ (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.