compression
\kɔ̃.pʁɛ.sjɔ̃\
The verdict
“compression” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #11,738 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #11,738
- frequency rank, French
- 11
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Action de comprimer ou résultat de cette action.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | compression |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \kɔ̃.pʁɛ.sjɔ̃\ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #11,738 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “compression” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for compression is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \kɔ̃.pʁɛ.sjɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #11,738 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for compression, with forms such as "ccompression", "cmopression", and "commpression". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "compressions", "compassion", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is compression, spelled C-O-M-P-R-E-S-S-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1Action de comprimer ou résultat de cette action.
- 2Oppression.
- 3Réduction des dépenses nécessitée par telle ou telle cause.
- 4Opération consistant à transformer à l’aide d’un algorithme une série de données (fichier ou données en mémoire vive) en une nouvelle série de taille plus réduite, sans perte du contenu original ou alors avec une perte mesurée et contrôlée (pour les fichiers image, vidéo ou audio).
- 5Phénomène d’écrasement du corps qui est ressenti par un sportif lorsqu’il atteint, à vitesse élevée, le point où une pente descendante s’inverse brutalement.
- 6Endroit où se produit un phénomène de compression.
- 7Proximité des arbres entre eux, qui les pousse à former leur bille de pied en grandissant et en s’élaguant naturellement.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccompression,cmopression,commpression,comperssion,comppression,compresion,compresison,compressino,compressionn,compressoin,comprression,comprsesion,comrpession,copmression,ocmpression
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of compression - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "compression"?
What does "compression" mean?
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Using “compression”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is C-O-M-P-R-E-S-S-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \kɔ̃.pʁɛ.sjɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “compressions” - see the side-by-side comparison. compression vs compressions
- 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.