patois

/pæˈtwɑ/

//pæˈtwɑ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“patois” is uncommon English (frequency #63,131 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,131
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A regional dialect (usually one considered substandard) of a language (especially French).

Corpus desk

Index EN-patois · patois · English

patois · rank #63,131 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #63,131
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH paywall

Nearest frequency peer: paywall (+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 “patois”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for patois
PropertyValue
Headwordpatois
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pæˈtwɑ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#63,131
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “patois” 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).patoisfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “paywall” (#63,132), “Pentland” (#63,134), “phantasy” (#63,137). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “patois” is #63,131. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

patois is uncommon English at frequency #63,131 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /pæˈtwɑ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

patois doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French patois (“regional dialect or language”), c. 1635. The correct English form is patois, spelled P-A-T-O-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A regional dialect (usually one considered substandard) of a language (especially French).
  2. 2
    Any of various French or Occitan dialects spoken in France.
  3. 3
    Creole French in the Caribbean (especially in Dominica, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti).
  4. 4
    Jamaican Patois, a Jamaican creole language based primarily on English and African languages but also having influences from Spanish, Portuguese, and Hindi.
  5. 5
    Jargon or cant.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. [The Sundanese] are regarded as relatively barbarous, and in the company of Malays or Javanese, they are themselves ashamed of their dialect, which is looked on as a sort of rude patois.
  2. *The Expanse'*s patois has become, like Klingon and Dothraki, the show's great unifier—the slang all devotees speak.

Etymology

Borrowed from French patois (“regional dialect or language”), c. 1635.

Synonyms

JamaicanPatwaJamaican Patois

This word in other languages

dialecto(Español)

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 "patois"?
"patois" is spelled P-A-T-O-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is /pæˈtwɑ/.
What does "patois" mean?
As a noun, "patois" means: A regional dialect (usually one considered substandard) of a language (especially French).
How do you pronounce "patois"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "patois" is /pæˈtwɑ/. 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 "patois"?
Borrowed from French patois (“regional dialect or language”), c. 1635. 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 "patois", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

oriole#63,121Pollux#63,149Norden#63,110pretax#63,155

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list