guillemet
\ɡij.mɛ\
The verdict
“guillemet” is uncommon French (frequency #69,884 among 194,371 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #69,884
- frequency rank, French
- 194,371
- “G” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Ponctuation de formes diverses (inversées entre ouverture et fermeture) qu’on emploie en tête et à la fin d’une citation, souvent même au commencement de chacune des lignes dont elle est composée, ...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | guillemet |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \ɡij.mɛ\ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #69,884 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “guillemet” sits in French frequency
Rare enough to double-check
guillemet is uncommon French at frequency #69,884 among 194,371 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \ɡij.mɛ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for guillemet in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is guillemet, spelled G-U-I-L-L-E-M-E-T.
Definition
- 1Ponctuation de formes diverses (inversées entre ouverture et fermeture) qu’on emploie en tête et à la fin d’une citation, souvent même au commencement de chacune des lignes dont elle est composée, pour signaler et marquer son caractère de discours emprunté ou rapporté en extrait.
- 2Façon d’insister sur un mot ou une expression ou de les atténuer, ou encore d'en signaler un usage atypique, ironique, personnel ou figuré, en les mettant entre guillemets pour les rapporter de façon distanciée ou les rattacher à une intention particulière.
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); 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
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Using “guillemet”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is G-U-I-L-L-E-M-E-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \ɡij.mɛ\ (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.