impératif
\ɛ̃.pe.ʁa.tif\
The verdict
“impératif” has 14 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #11,072. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #11,072
- frequency rank, French
- 142,603
- “I” headwords
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui exige ou prétend exiger l’obéissance à un ordre, en parlant des paroles et des gestes.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | impératif |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | \ɛ̃.pe.ʁa.tif\ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #11,072 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “impératif” sits in French frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 14 spelling variants around impératif (IPA \ɛ̃.pe.ʁa.tif\), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #11,072 among 142,603 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for impératif, with forms such as "immpératif", "imperatif", and "imppératif". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "impératifs", "impérative", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is impératif, spelled I-M-P-É-R-A-T-I-F.
Definition
- 1Qui exige ou prétend exiger l’obéissance à un ordre, en parlant des paroles et des gestes.
- 2Nécessaire ; impérieux ; urgent.
- 3Qualifie 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
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of impératif - 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.
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
How do you spell "impératif"?
What does "impératif" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "impératif"?
How do you pronounce "impératif"?
What language does "impératif" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “impératif”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is I-M-P-É-R-A-T-I-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \ɛ̃.pe.ʁa.tif\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “impératifs” - see the side-by-side comparison. impératif vs impératifs
- Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Same frequency band
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.