heavy metal

\ɛ.vi me.tal\

/\ɛ.vi me.tal\/ noun

The verdict

“heavy metal” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Forme de musique proche du hard rock, utilisant traditionnellement des guitares, des guitares basses au son plus ou moins saturé, une batterie et un chanteur. D’autres instruments peuvent être util...

Corpus desk

Index FR-heavy-metal · heavy metal · French

heavy metal · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "H" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for heavy metal
PropertyValue
Headwordheavy metal
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɛ.vi me.tal\
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « heavy metal » en français

heavy metalreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

heavy metal is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ɛ.vi me.tal\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Forme de musique proche du hard rock, utilisant traditionnellement des guitares, des guitares basses au son plus ou moins saturé, une batterie et un chanteur. D’autres instruments peuvent être util...".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for heavy metal, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is heavy metal, spelled H-E-A-V-Y- -M-E-T-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Forme de musique proche du hard rock, utilisant traditionnellement des guitares, des guitares basses au son plus ou moins saturé, une batterie et un chanteur. D’autres instruments peuvent être utilisés (piano, synthétiseur, etc.).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Le seul point un peu douteux, chez lui, était qu’il était fan de heavy metal, mais enfin nul n’est parfait, et pour un fan de heavy metal il était poli et propre.
  2. Dix ans plus tard, [John Lennon] affirmera avoir créé l’une des premières chansons de heavy metal de l’histoire, anticipant de plusieurs années les déflagrations sonores de Led Zeppelin ou Black Sabbath.

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 "heavy metal"?
"heavy metal" is spelled H-E-A-V-Y- -M-E-T-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is \ɛ.vi me.tal\.
What does "heavy metal" mean?
As a noun, "heavy metal" means: Forme de musique proche du hard rock, utilisant traditionnellement des guitares, des guitares basses au son plus ou moins saturé, une batterie et un chanteur. D’autres instruments peuvent être util...
How do you pronounce "heavy metal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "heavy metal" is \ɛ.vi me.tal\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "heavy metal" come from?
"heavy metal" 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list