impératif

/\ɛ̃.pe.ʁa.tif\/ adj

Letters

9 characters

Frequency Rank

#11,072

in French word usage

Misspellings

14

tracked variants

Confusables

2

similar word pairs

impératif is anFrenchadj. It means: Qui exige ou prétend exiger l’obéissance à un ordre, en parlant des paroles et des gestes. Pronounced \ɛ̃.pe.ʁa.tif\. Often confused with impératifs and impérative.

Key facts for impératif
PropertyValue
Headwordimpératif
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdj
IPA\ɛ̃.pe.ʁa.tif\
Letters9
Frequency rank#11,072
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of impératif in French word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for impératif is 9 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɛ̃.pe.ʁa.tif\. Corpus data places it at rank #11,072 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for impératif, with forms such as "immpératif", "imperatif", and "imppératif". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "impératifs", "impérative", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct French form is impératif, spelled I-M-P-É-R-A-T-I-F, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui exige ou prétend exiger l’obéissance à un ordre, en parlant des paroles et des gestes.
  2. 2
    Nécessaire ; impérieux ; urgent.
  3. 3
    Qualifie un langage de programmation qui met l’accent sur les modifications des variables provoquées par l’exécution des instructions.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: immpératif,imperatif,imppératif,impréatif,impéartif,impéraitf,impératfi,impératiff,impérattif,impérratif,impértaif,imépratif,ipmératif,mipératif

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for impératif

Misspelling Variants of "impératif"

immpératif10imperatif9imppératif10impréatif9impéartif9impéraitf9impératfi9impératiff10
Misspelling Variants of "impératif"

Frequency rank: #11,072 in French

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "impératif"?
"impératif" is spelled I-M-P-É-R-A-T-I-F. The IPA pronunciation is \ɛ̃.pe.ʁa.tif\.
What does "impératif" mean?
As an adj, "impératif" means: Qui exige ou prétend exiger l’obéissance à un ordre, en parlant des paroles et des gestes.
What words are commonly confused with "impératif"?
"impératif" is commonly confused with "impératifs", "impérative". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "impératif"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "impératif" is \ɛ̃.pe.ʁa.tif\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "impératif" come from?
"impératif" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Nearby French words

Other entries that begin with the letter I in our French index:

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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.