attention

\a.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\

/\a.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“attention” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #608 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#608
frequency rank, French
9
letters
11
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Concentration particulière sur quelque chose ; application d’esprit à quelque chose.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

attention vs attentive
78% similar
attention vs attentions
90% similar
attention vs attentionné
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for attention
PropertyValue
Headwordattention
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\a.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\
Letters9
Frequency rank#608
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “attention” 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). attention lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for attention is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \a.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #608 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for attention, with forms such as "atention", "atetntion", and "atteniton". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "attentive", "attentions", "attentionné", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is attention, spelled A-T-T-E-N-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Concentration particulière sur quelque chose ; application d’esprit à quelque chose.
  2. 2
    Vigilance.
  3. 3
    Disposition qui porte à rendre des soins.
  4. 4
    Marque de prévenance ; soin officieux ou obligeant.
  5. 5
    Méthode consistant à déterminer l’importance relative de chaque élément au sein d’une séquence.

Synonyms

advertance

Antonyms

inattentiondistraction

This word in other languages

attention(English)atención(Español)Achtung(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: atention,atetntion,atteniton,attenntion,attentino,attentionn,attentoin,attenttion,attetnion,attnetion,tatention

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of attention - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

atention1atetntion2atteniton2attenntion1attentino2attentionn1attentoin2attenttion1
Edit distance from "attention"

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 "attention"?
"attention" is spelled A-T-T-E-N-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \a.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\.
What does "attention" mean?
As a noun, "attention" means: Concentration particulière sur quelque chose ; application d’esprit à quelque chose.
What words are commonly confused with "attention"?
"attention" is commonly confused with "attentive", "attentions", "attentionné". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "attention"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "attention" is \a.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "attention" come from?
"attention" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “attention”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is A-T-T-E-N-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \a.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “attentive” - see the side-by-side comparison. attention vs attentive
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list