contretemps
\kɔ̃.tʁə.tɑ̃\
The verdict
“contretemps” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #35,443 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #35,443
- frequency rank, French
- 11
- letters
- 18
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Accident inopiné qui nuit au succès d’une affaire et qui compromet la réalisation d’un dessein, d’un projet.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | contretemps |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \kɔ̃.tʁə.tɑ̃\ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #35,443 |
| Misspellings tracked | 18 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “contretemps” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for contretemps is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \kɔ̃.tʁə.tɑ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #35,443 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 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for contretemps, with forms such as "ccontretemps", "cnotretemps", and "conntretemps". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is contretemps, spelled C-O-N-T-R-E-T-E-M-P-S.
Definition
- 1Accident inopiné qui nuit au succès d’une affaire et qui compromet la réalisation d’un dessein, d’un projet.
- 2Certain pas.
- 3Syncope rythmique qui rompt une accentuation régulière lorsqu'un son, commencé sur un temps faible, est interrompu sur le temps fort qui suit.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccontretemps,cnotretemps,conntretemps,conrtetemps,contertemps,contreetmps,contretemmps,contretempps,contretempss,contretemsp,contretepms,contretmeps,contrettemps,contrretemps,contrteemps,conttretemps,cotnretemps,ocntretemps
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of contretemps - 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 "contretemps"?
What does "contretemps" mean?
What are common misspellings of "contretemps"?
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What language does "contretemps" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “contretemps”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is C-O-N-T-R-E-T-E-M-P-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \kɔ̃.tʁə.tɑ̃\ (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.