doucement

\dus.mɑ̃\

/\dus.mɑ̃\/ adv

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“doucement” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #3,673 in French word frequency and used as an adverb.

#3,673
frequency rank, French
9
letters
13
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - D’une manière douce.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

doucement vs durement
78% similar
doucement vs document
78% similar
doucement vs doublement
80% similar

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

Key facts for doucement
PropertyValue
Headworddoucement
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\dus.mɑ̃\
Letters9
Frequency rank#3,673
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “doucement” 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). doucement 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 doucement is 9 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \dus.mɑ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #3,673 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for doucement, with forms such as "ddoucement", "docuement", and "douccement". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "durement", "document", "doublement", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is doucement, spelled D-O-U-C-E-M-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    D’une manière douce.
  2. 2
    Avec ménagement, délicatement, sans violence, sans brutalité.
  3. 3
    Lentement.
  4. 4
    Sans bruit, avec peu de bruit.
  5. 5
    À voix basse.
  6. 6
    Sans éprouver d’agitation, avec calme.
  7. 7
    Avec humanité, avec bonté.
  8. 8
    Sans sévérité, sans aigreur.
  9. 9
    Sans emportement.
  10. 10
    Agréablement.
  11. 11
    Médiocrement, faiblement.

Antonyms

durement

This word in other languages

softly(English)suavemente(Español)docemente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ddoucement,docuement,douccement,douceemnt,doucemennt,doucementt,doucemetn,doucemment,doucemnet,doucmeent,douecment,duocement,oducement

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of doucement - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ddoucement1docuement2douccement1douceemnt2doucemennt1doucementt1doucemetn2doucemment1
Edit distance from "doucement"

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 "doucement"?
"doucement" is spelled D-O-U-C-E-M-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \dus.mɑ̃\.
What does "doucement" mean?
As an adverb, "doucement" means: D’une manière douce.
What words are commonly confused with "doucement"?
"doucement" is commonly confused with "durement", "document", "doublement". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "doucement"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "doucement" is \dus.mɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "doucement" come from?
"doucement" 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 “doucement”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is D-O-U-C-E-M-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \dus.mɑ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “durement” - see the side-by-side comparison. doucement vs durement
  • 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