à la manque
\a la mɑ̃k\
The verdict
“à la manque” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Se dit d’une personne qui veut jouer un grand rôle et ne réussit qu’à être la caricature de son modèle.
Corpus desk
Index FR-a-la-manque · à la manque · French
à la manque · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "À" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | à la manque |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | \a la mɑ̃k\ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « à la manque » en français
Rare enough to double-check
à la manque is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \a la mɑ̃k\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Se dit d’une personne qui veut jouer un grand rôle et ne réussit qu’à être la caricature de son modèle.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for à la manque, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is à la manque, spelled À- -L-A- -M-A-N-Q-U-E.
Definition
- 1Se dit d’une personne qui veut jouer un grand rôle et ne réussit qu’à être la caricature de son modèle.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how à la manque appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Ce ministre est un Richelieu à la manque.
Cette épistolière est une Sévigné à la manque.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.