confine

\kɔ̃.fin\

/\kɔ̃.fin\/ verb

The verdict

“confine” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #42,803 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#42,803
frequency rank, French
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de confiner.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

confine vs conne
71% similar
confine vs convié
57% similar
confine vs confit
71% similar

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

Key facts for confine
PropertyValue
Headwordconfine
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\kɔ̃.fin\
Letters7
Frequency rank#42,803
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “confine” 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). confine lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for confine is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \kɔ̃.fin\. Corpus data places it at rank #42,803 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for confine, with forms such as "cconfine", "cnofine", and "cofnine". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "conne", "convié", "confit", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is confine, spelled C-O-N-F-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de confiner.
  2. 2
    Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de confiner.
  3. 3
    Première personne du singulier du subjonctif présent de confiner.
  4. 4
    Troisième personne du singulier du subjonctif présent de confiner.
  5. 5
    Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif de confiner.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: cconfine,cnofine,cofnine,conffine,confien,confinne,confnie,conifne,connfine,ocnfine

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of confine - 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.

cconfine1cnofine2cofnine2conffine1confien2confinne1confnie2conifne2
Edit distance from "confine"

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 "confine"?
"confine" is spelled C-O-N-F-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is \kɔ̃.fin\.
What does "confine" mean?
As a verb, "confine" means: Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de confiner.
What words are commonly confused with "confine"?
"confine" is commonly confused with "conne", "convié", "confit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "confine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "confine" is \kɔ̃.fin\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "confine" come from?
"confine" 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 “confine”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-O-N-F-I-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \kɔ̃.fin\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “conne” - see the side-by-side comparison. confine vs conne
  • 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