frein

\fʁɛ̃\

/\fʁɛ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“frein” has 7 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #7,569. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,569
frequency rank, French
3,276
“F” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Dispositif destiné à modérer la vitesse d’un mécanisme, à enrayer les roues d’un véhicule.

Corpus desk

Index FR-frein · frein · French

frein · rank #7,569 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,569
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,276
  • PHOTO-FINISH formant

Nearest frequency peer: formant (-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 “frein”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “frein” 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).

frein vs fric
60% similar
frein vs frit
60% similar
frein vs frère
40% similar

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

Key facts for frein
PropertyValue
Headwordfrein
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\fʁɛ̃\
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,569
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “frein” 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). frein 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 7 spelling variants around frein (IPA \fʁɛ̃\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,569 among 3,276 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for frein, with forms such as "ferin", "ffrein", and "freinn". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fric", "frit", "frère", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, 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 frein, spelled F-R-E-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Dispositif destiné à modérer la vitesse d’un mécanisme, à enrayer les roues d’un véhicule.
  2. 2
    Mors, partie de la bride qu’on met dans la bouche du cheval pour le gouverner.
  3. 3
    Ce qui retient dans les bornes du devoir, de la raison.
  4. 4
    Personne qui constitue une entrave au bon déroulement d’un acte, au bon avancement d’une entreprise commune.
  5. 5
    Ligament, replis muqueux, qui bride ou retient quelque partie ou quelque organe du corps.
  6. 6
    Petite pièce fixée sur un écrou et qui l’empêche de se desserrer.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Le conducteur à la conductrice : « Je conduis depuis fort longtemps, en principe, je dis bien en principe, les freins sont faits pour s'arrêter ! ».
  2. […] le bateau raidissant sa chaîne cassa ses bosses ; le frein du guindeau se rompit ; il fallu mouiller le seconde ancre pour pouvoir le réparer.

This word in other languages

restraint(English)frenillo(Español)Band(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ferin
  • ffrein
  • freinn
  • freni
  • frien
  • frrein
  • rfein

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of frein - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ferin2ffrein1freinn1freni2frien2frrein1rfein2
Edit distance from "frein"

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 "frein"?
"frein" is spelled F-R-E-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is \fʁɛ̃\.
What does "frein" mean?
As a noun, "frein" means: Dispositif destiné à modérer la vitesse d’un mécanisme, à enrayer les roues d’un véhicule.
What words are commonly confused with "frein"?
"frein" is commonly confused with "fric", "frit", "frère". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "frein"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "frein" is \fʁɛ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "frein" come from?
"frein" 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 "frein", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hotel#7,576Juppé#7,585manif#7,591brûlé#7,533

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

perçu7 variantsvaccin7 variantsserrer7 variantsgrise7 variants

What to do next

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

  • "frein" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "fric". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #7,569 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "F" letter cohort. F–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