écrivait

\e.kʁi.vɛ\

/\e.kʁi.vɛ\/ verb

The verdict

“écrivait” has 12 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #10,104. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,104
frequency rank, French
1,805
“É” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de écrire.

Corpus desk

Index FR-ecrivait · écrivait · French

écrivait · rank #10,104 · 12 variants · 9 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,104
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,805
  • PHOTO-FINISH yen

Nearest frequency peer: yen (-1 rank slots)

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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “écrivait”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “écrivait” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

écrivait vs écrivit
88% similar
écrivait vs écrivent
75% similar
écrivait vs écrivant
88% similar

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

Key facts for écrivait
PropertyValue
Headwordécrivait
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\e.kʁi.vɛ\
Letters8
Frequency rank#10,104
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “écrivait” sits in French frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).écrivait lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around écrivait (IPA \e.kʁi.vɛ\), averb. Corpus frequency is #10,104 among 1,805 “É” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de écrire.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for écrivait, with forms such as "cérivait", "ecrivait", and "éccrivait". 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. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "écrivit", "écrivent", "écrivant", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is écrivait, spelled É-C-R-I-V-A-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de écrire.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Certaines communes, écrivait le préfet, à l’occasion des fêtes patronales, ou de manifestations agricoles, ont, à leur programme de réjouissances, des concours de buveurs de cidre ou autres boissons.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cérivait
  • ecrivait
  • éccrivait
  • écirvait
  • écriavit
  • écrivaitt
  • écrivati
  • écriviat
  • écrivvait
  • écrrivait
  • écrviait
  • ércivait

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

cérivait2ecrivait1éccrivait1écirvait2écriavit2écrivaitt1écrivati2écriviat2
Edit distance from "écrivait"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "écrivait"?
"écrivait" is spelled É-C-R-I-V-A-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is \e.kʁi.vɛ\.
What does "écrivait" mean?
As a verb, "écrivait" means: Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de écrire.
What words are commonly confused with "écrivait"?
"écrivait" is commonly confused with "écrivit", "écrivent", "écrivant". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "écrivait"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "écrivait" is \e.kʁi.vɛ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "écrivait" come from?
"écrivait" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "écrivait", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

What to do next

You've looked up "écrivait". Here's where to go from here.

  • "écrivait" maps to 9 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "écrivit". View pair
  • 12 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #10,104 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "É" letter cohort. É–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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