curriculum vitae

\ky.ʁi.ky.lɔm.vi.te\

/\ky.ʁi.ky.lɔm.vi.te\/ noun

The verdict

“curriculum vitae” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Variante orthographique de curriculum vitæ.

Key facts for curriculum vitae
PropertyValue
Headwordcurriculum vitae
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ky.ʁi.ky.lɔm.vi.te\
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “curriculum vitae” sits in French frequency

curriculum vitae falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for curriculum vitae is 16 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ky.ʁi.ky.lɔm.vi.te\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Variante orthographique de curriculum vitæ.".

No misspelling variants are generated for curriculum vitae in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is curriculum vitae, spelled C-U-R-R-I-C-U-L-U-M- -V-I-T-A-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Variante orthographique de curriculum vitæ.

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 "curriculum vitae"?
"curriculum vitae" is spelled C-U-R-R-I-C-U-L-U-M- -V-I-T-A-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ky.ʁi.ky.lɔm.vi.te\.
What does "curriculum vitae" mean?
As a noun, "curriculum vitae" means: Variante orthographique de curriculum vitæ.
How do you pronounce "curriculum vitae"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "curriculum vitae" is \ky.ʁi.ky.lɔm.vi.te\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "curriculum vitae" come from?
"curriculum vitae" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “curriculum vitae”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-U-R-R-I-C-U-L-U-M- -V-I-T-A-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ky.ʁi.ky.lɔm.vi.te\ (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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list