capitaine

\ka.pi.tɛn\

/\ka.pi.tɛn\/ noun

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

The verdict

“capitaine” has 12 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #1,387. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,387
frequency rank, French
257,141
“C” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Grade d’officier, le plus élevé en grade des officiers subalternes. Ce grade correspond à celui de lieutenant de vaisseau dans la Marine nationale française. Le code OTAN : OF-2. Dans la Marine nat...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

capitaine vs captain
78% similar
capitaine vs capitale
78% similar
capitaine vs capitaines
90% similar

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

Key facts for capitaine
PropertyValue
Headwordcapitaine
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ka.pi.tɛn\
Letters9
Frequency rank#1,387
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “capitaine” 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). capitaine lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around capitaine (IPA \ka.pi.tɛn\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,387 among 257,141 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for capitaine, with forms such as "acpitaine", "caiptaine", and "capiatine". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "captain", "capitale", "capitaines", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is capitaine, spelled C-A-P-I-T-A-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Grade d’officier, le plus élevé en grade des officiers subalternes. Ce grade correspond à celui de lieutenant de vaisseau dans la Marine nationale française. Le code OTAN : OF-2. Dans la Marine nationale : Capitaine de corvette, de frégate, de vaisseau, officiers de marine dont les grades équivalent respectivement à ceux de commandant, lieutenant-colonel, colonel dans l'armée de terre.
  2. 2
    Officier qui porte ce grade.
  3. 3
    Capitaine de pavillon : commandant du bâtiment à bord duquel est embarqué l’amiral.
  4. 4
    Capitaine d’armes : → voir armes
  5. 5
    Grade d’officier des Forces armées canadiennes.
  6. 6
    Gouverneur d'une résidence royale et des terres qui en dépendaient.
  7. 7
    Officier chargé autrefois de tout ce qui regardait la chasse dans une circonscription déterminée.
  8. 8
    Officier qui commande un bâtiment marchand.
  9. 9
    Capitaine de port. Fonctionnaire chargé de l'administration et de la sécurité des ports de commerce et de pêche.
  10. 10
    Chef militaire.
  11. 11
    Dans les sports collectifs, celui ou celle qui commande son équipe sur le terrain.
  12. 12
    Nom d’usage du poisson Polydactylus quadrifilis.
  13. 13
    Synonyme de perche du Nil (poisson).
  14. 14
    Nom donné aux poissons du genre Lethrinus.

Synonyms

capitainesse

This word in other languages

captain(English)capitán(Español)Stabshauptmann(Deutsch)capitão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: acpitaine,caiptaine,capiatine,capitaien,capitainne,capitanie,capitiane,capittaine,cappitaine,captiaine,ccapitaine,cpaitaine

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of capitaine - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

acpitaine2caiptaine2capiatine2capitaien2capitainne1capitanie2capitiane2capittaine1
Edit distance from "capitaine"

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 "capitaine"?
"capitaine" is spelled C-A-P-I-T-A-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ka.pi.tɛn\.
What does "capitaine" mean?
As a noun, "capitaine" means: Grade d’officier, le plus élevé en grade des officiers subalternes. Ce grade correspond à celui de lieutenant de vaisseau dans la Marine nationale française. Le code OTAN : OF-2. Dans la Marine nat...
What words are commonly confused with "capitaine"?
"capitaine" is commonly confused with "captain", "capitale", "capitaines". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "capitaine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "capitaine" is \ka.pi.tɛn\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "capitaine" come from?
"capitaine" 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 “capitaine”

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

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

Same frequency band

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