patois
/pæˈtwɑ/
"patois" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“patois” is an uncommon English word, ranked #63,131 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #63,131
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A regional dialect (usually one considered substandard) of a language (especially French).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | patois |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pæˈtwɑ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #63,131 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “patois” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for patois is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pæˈtwɑ/. Corpus data places it at rank #63,131 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1A regional dialect (usually one considered substandard) of a language (especially French).
- 2Any of various French or Occitan dialects spoken in France.
- 3Creole French in the Caribbean (especially in Dominica, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti).
- 4Jamaican Patois, a Jamaican creole language based primarily on English and African languages but also having influences from Spanish, Portuguese, and Hindi.
- 5Jargon or cant.
Etymology
Borrowed from French patois (“regional dialect or language”), c. 1635.
Synonyms
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
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Using “patois”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-T-O-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pæˈtwɑ/ (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.