contre-question

\kɔ̃.tʁə.kɛs.tjɔ̃\

/\kɔ̃.tʁə.kɛs.tjɔ̃\/ noun

The verdict

“contre-question” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Autre question pour ne pas directement répondre à une question posée par l’interlocuteur.

Corpus desk

Index FR-contre-question · contre-question · French

contre-question · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for contre-question
PropertyValue
Headwordcontre-question
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kɔ̃.tʁə.kɛs.tjɔ̃\
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Où “contre-question” se place dans la fréquence du français

contre-questionn'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

contre-question is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \kɔ̃.tʁə.kɛs.tjɔ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Autre question pour ne pas directement répondre à une question posée par l’interlocuteur.".

Zero misspellings are on record for contre-question in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is contre-question, spelled C-O-N-T-R-E---Q-U-E-S-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Autre question pour ne pas directement répondre à une question posée par l’interlocuteur.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Dans le cas où le client pose une question : la contre-question permet de différer la réponse à un moment plus opportun.
  2. Un prince pose à une jeune fille des questions auxquelles aucune réponse n’est possible : « Combien y a-t-il de feuilles à ton plant de basilic ? » La seule façon de répondre est de poser une contre-question : « Combien y a-t-il d’étoiles au ciel ? »

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "contre-question"?
"contre-question" is spelled C-O-N-T-R-E---Q-U-E-S-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \kɔ̃.tʁə.kɛs.tjɔ̃\.
What does "contre-question" mean?
As a noun, "contre-question" means: Autre question pour ne pas directement répondre à une question posée par l’interlocuteur.
How do you pronounce "contre-question"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "contre-question" is \kɔ̃.tʁə.kɛs.tjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "contre-question" come from?
"contre-question" 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.

What to do next

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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