Marseilles
/mɑː(ɹ)ˈseɪ/
"marseilles" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Marseilles” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #33,320 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #33,320
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Alternative spelling of Marseille: the capital city of Bouches-du-Rhône department, France; the capital city of the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Marseilles |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /mɑː(ɹ)ˈseɪ/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #33,320 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Marseilles” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Marseilles is 10 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /mɑː(ɹ)ˈseɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #33,320 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for Marseilles, with forms such as "amrseilles", "maresilles", and "marrseilles". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Marseille", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French Marseilles (nominative of Marseille), from Latin Massilia, Marsilia, from Ancient Greek Μασσαλία (Massalía), probably from a pre-Latin language of Italy, perhaps Ancient Ligurian mas (“spring”). The correct English form is Marseilles, spelled M-A-R-S-E-I-L-L-E-S.
Definition
- 1Alternative spelling of Marseille: the capital city of Bouches-du-Rhône department, France; the capital city of the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
- 2A city in LaSalle County, in northern Illinois, United States.
Etymology
From Old French Marseilles (nominative of Marseille), from Latin Massilia, Marsilia, from Ancient Greek Μασσαλία (Massalía), probably from a pre-Latin language of Italy, perhaps Ancient Ligurian mas (“spring”).
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: amrseilles,maresilles,marrseilles,marseilels,marseiles,marseilless,marseillse,marseliles,marsielles,marsseilles,masreilles,mmarseilles,mraseilles
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Marseilles - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "Marseilles"?
What does "Marseilles" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Marseilles"?
How do you pronounce "Marseilles"?
What is the origin of the word "Marseilles"?
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Using “Marseilles”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-R-S-E-I-L-L-E-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /mɑː(ɹ)ˈseɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Marseille” - see the side-by-side comparison. Marseilles vs Marseille
- 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.