comme un fou

\kɔ.m‿œ̃ fu\

/\kɔ.m‿œ̃ fu\/ adv

The verdict

“comme un fou” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as an adverb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - De manière excessive, exagérée ou irrationnelle.

Key facts for comme un fou
PropertyValue
Headwordcomme un fou
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\kɔ.m‿œ̃ fu\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “comme un fou” sits in French frequency

comme un fou falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for comme un fou is 12 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \kɔ.m‿œ̃ fu\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "De manière excessive, exagérée ou irrationnelle.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for comme un fou, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is comme un fou, spelled C-O-M-M-E- -U-N- -F-O-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    De manière excessive, exagérée ou irrationnelle.

Synonyms

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "comme un fou"?
"comme un fou" is spelled C-O-M-M-E- -U-N- -F-O-U. The IPA pronunciation is \kɔ.m‿œ̃ fu\.
What does "comme un fou" mean?
As an adverb, "comme un fou" means: De manière excessive, exagérée ou irrationnelle.
How do you pronounce "comme un fou"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "comme un fou" is \kɔ.m‿œ̃ fu\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "comme un fou" come from?
"comme un fou" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “comme un fou”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-O-M-M-E- -U-N- -F-O-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \kɔ.m‿œ̃ fu\ (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
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