atchoum

\at.ʃum\

/\at.ʃum\/ onomatopoeia

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

The verdict

“atchoum” is uncommon French (frequency #78,140 among 424,905 “A” headwords), classed as an onomatopoeia. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,140
frequency rank, French
424,905
“A” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Onomatopée imitant le bruit d’un éternuement.

Key facts for atchoum
PropertyValue
Headwordatchoum
LanguageFrench
Part of speechOnomatopoeia
IPA\at.ʃum\
Letters7
Frequency rank#78,140
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “atchoum” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). atchoum lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

atchoum is uncommon French at frequency #78,140 among 424,905 “A” headwords, classed as anonomatopoeia, transcribed \at.ʃum\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Onomatopée imitant le bruit d’un éternuement.".

atchoum has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is atchoum, spelled A-T-C-H-O-U-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Onomatopée imitant le bruit d’un éternuement.

This word in other languages

achoo(English)achís(Español)hatschi(Deutsch)

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "atchoum"?
"atchoum" is spelled A-T-C-H-O-U-M. The IPA pronunciation is \at.ʃum\.
What does "atchoum" mean?
As an onomatopoeia, "atchoum" means: Onomatopée imitant le bruit d’un éternuement.
How do you pronounce "atchoum"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "atchoum" is \at.ʃum\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "atchoum" come from?
"atchoum" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “atchoum”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is A-T-C-H-O-U-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \at.ʃum\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list