faute de frappe

\fot də fʁap\

/\fot də fʁap\/ noun

The verdict

“faute de frappe” 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
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Erreur de saisie lors de l’utilisation d’un clavier d’une machine à écrire ou d’ordinateur.

Key facts for faute de frappe
PropertyValue
Headwordfaute de frappe
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\fot də fʁap\
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “faute de frappe” sits in French frequency

faute de frappe 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 faute de frappe is 15 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \fot də fʁap\. 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: "Erreur de saisie lors de l’utilisation d’un clavier d’une machine à écrire ou d’ordinateur.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for faute de frappe, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, 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 faute de frappe, spelled F-A-U-T-E- -D-E- -F-R-A-P-P-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Erreur de saisie lors de l’utilisation d’un clavier d’une machine à écrire ou d’ordinateur.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

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 "faute de frappe"?
"faute de frappe" is spelled F-A-U-T-E- -D-E- -F-R-A-P-P-E. The IPA pronunciation is \fot də fʁap\.
What does "faute de frappe" mean?
As a noun, "faute de frappe" means: Erreur de saisie lors de l’utilisation d’un clavier d’une machine à écrire ou d’ordinateur.
How do you pronounce "faute de frappe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "faute de frappe" is \fot də fʁap\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "faute de frappe" come from?
"faute de frappe" 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 “faute de frappe”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is F-A-U-T-E- -D-E- -F-R-A-P-P-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \fot də fʁap\ (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