encourages

\ɑ̃.ku.ʁaʒ\

/\ɑ̃.ku.ʁaʒ\/ verb

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

The verdict

“encourages” is uncommon French (frequency #81,995 among 201,161 “E” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#81,995
frequency rank, French
201,161
“E” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de encourager.

Key facts for encourages
PropertyValue
Headwordencourages
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ɑ̃.ku.ʁaʒ\
Letters10
Frequency rank#81,995
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “encourages” 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). encourages lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

encourages is uncommon French at frequency #81,995 among 201,161 “E” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed \ɑ̃.ku.ʁaʒ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for encourages in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is encourages, spelled E-N-C-O-U-R-A-G-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de encourager.
  2. 2
    Deuxième personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de encourager.

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 "encourages"?
"encourages" is spelled E-N-C-O-U-R-A-G-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is \ɑ̃.ku.ʁaʒ\.
What does "encourages" mean?
As a verb, "encourages" means: Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de encourager.
How do you pronounce "encourages"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "encourages" is \ɑ̃.ku.ʁaʒ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "encourages" come from?
"encourages" 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 “encourages”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is E-N-C-O-U-R-A-G-E-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ɑ̃.ku.ʁaʒ\ (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

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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