commencer

\kɔ.mɑ̃.se\

/\kɔ.mɑ̃.se\/ verb

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

The verdict

“commencer” has 12 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #976. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#976
frequency rank, French
8,609
“C” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
19
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Engager une action, entreprendre une tâche, donner à une chose un commencement d’existence.

Corpus desk

Index FR-commencer · commencer · French

commencer · rank #976 · 12 variants · 19 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #976
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 19 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,609
  • PHOTO-FINISH bonnes

Nearest frequency peer: bonnes (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « commencer »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « commencer » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

commencer vs commerce
78% similar
commencer vs commente
78% similar
commencer vs commerces
78% similar

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

Key facts for commencer
PropertyValue
Headwordcommencer
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\kɔ.mɑ̃.se\
Letters9
Frequency rank#976
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs19
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « commencer »

La fréquence va de la poignée de mots du quotidien (gauche) à la longue queue presque jamais vue (droite).commencerse place ici:

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

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « bonnes » (#975), « commerce » (#977), « complètement » (#978). Parmi 8,609 lemmes en « C », « commencer » est au #976. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around commencer (IPA \kɔ.mɑ̃.se\), averb. Corpus frequency is #976 among 8,609 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for commencer, with forms such as "ccommencer", "cmomencer", and "comemncer". 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 19 confusable-pair relationships, "commerce", "commente", "commerces", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is commencer, spelled C-O-M-M-E-N-C-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Engager une action, entreprendre une tâche, donner à une chose un commencement d’existence.
  2. 2
    Entrer dans un nouvel état, dans une nouvelle situation.
  3. 3
    Être au début d'une période de temps.
  4. 4
    Être encore dans les premiers temps d'une période déterminée.
  5. 5
    Faire une première chose au début d'une période donnée.
  6. 6
    Donner, à quelqu’un, les premières leçons, les premiers commencements d'un art, d'une science.
  7. 7
    Donner les premières leçons de manège à un cheval.
  8. 8
    Entrer dans son commencement.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how commencer appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Georges poussa la porte, ouverte comme d’habitude. Il traversa à pas comptés le hall au carrelage glissant, trop bien astiqué, et commença de monter l'escalier.
  2. Méthodique, ce connaisseur des métiers d'art, ne s’intéressait pas moins à l’architecture qu'au mobilier domestique, indissociable de celle-ci, et dont il avait commencé une étude inachevée.

Synonyms

débuterinitieramorcerentamerse mettre àentreprendre

Antonyms

finirterminerachever

This word in other languages

start(English)comenzar(Español)anfangen(Deutsch)começar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccommencer
  • cmomencer
  • comemncer
  • comencer
  • commecner
  • commenccer
  • commencerr
  • commencre
  • commenecr
  • commenncer
  • commnecer
  • ocmmencer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccommencer1cmomencer2comemncer2comencer1commecner2commenccer1commencerr1commencre2
Edit distance from "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 "commencer"?
"commencer" is spelled C-O-M-M-E-N-C-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \kɔ.mɑ̃.se\.
What does "commencer" mean?
As a verb, "commencer" means: Engager une action, entreprendre une tâche, donner à une chose un commencement d’existence.
What words are commonly confused with "commencer"?
"commencer" is commonly confused with "commerce", "commente", "commerces". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "commencer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "commencer" 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 "commencer" come from?
"commencer" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "commencer", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

activités#973toutefois#972habitants#982meilleurs#968

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

physique12 variantsterritoire12 variantsapprendre12 variantsvendredi12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list