contentieux
\kɔ̃.tɑ̃.sjø\
The verdict
“contentieux” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #12,135 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #12,135
- frequency rank, French
- 11
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui fait l’objet ou qui peut faire l’objet d’un débat.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | contentieux |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | \kɔ̃.tɑ̃.sjø\ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #12,135 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “contentieux” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for contentieux is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \kɔ̃.tɑ̃.sjø\. Corpus data places it at rank #12,135 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for contentieux, with forms such as "ccontentieux", "cnotentieux", and "conetntieux". 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. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is contentieux, spelled C-O-N-T-E-N-T-I-E-U-X.
Definition
- 1Qui fait l’objet ou qui peut faire l’objet d’un débat.
- 2Qui aime à disputer, à contester.
- 3Qualifie la juridiction dans laquelle les affaires de contentieux sont déférées aux tribunaux administratifs au lieu d’être remises à la décision du préfet, du maire, etc.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccontentieux,cnotentieux,conetntieux,conntentieux,conteniteux,contenntieux,contenteiux,contentieuxx,contentiexu,contentiuex,contenttieux,contetnieux,contnetieux,conttentieux,cotnentieux,ocntentieux
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of contentieux - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "contentieux"?
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Using “contentieux”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is C-O-N-T-E-N-T-I-E-U-X - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \kɔ̃.tɑ̃.sjø\ (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.