commençai

\kɔ.mɑ̃.se\

/\kɔ.mɑ̃.se\/ verb

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

The verdict

“commençai” is uncommon French (frequency #80,059 among 257,141 “C” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#80,059
frequency rank, French
257,141
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Première personne du singulier du passé simple de commencer.

Key facts for commençai
PropertyValue
Headwordcommençai
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\kɔ.mɑ̃.se\
Letters9
Frequency rank#80,059
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “commençai” 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). commençai 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

commençai is uncommon French at frequency #80,059 among 257,141 “C” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed \kɔ.mɑ̃.se\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Première personne du singulier du passé simple de commencer.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for commençai, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. 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.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is commençai, spelled C-O-M-M-E-N-Ç-A-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    Première personne du singulier du passé simple de commencer.

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 "commençai"?
"commençai" is spelled C-O-M-M-E-N-Ç-A-I. The IPA pronunciation is \kɔ.mɑ̃.se\.
What does "commençai" mean?
As a verb, "commençai" means: Première personne du singulier du passé simple de commencer.
How do you pronounce "commençai"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "commençai" is \kɔ.mɑ̃.se\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "commençai" come from?
"commençai" 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 “commençai”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-O-M-M-E-N-Ç-A-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \kɔ.mɑ̃.se\ (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