instance
\ɛ̃s.tɑ̃s\
The verdict
“instance” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #4,681 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #4,681
- frequency rank, French
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 8
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Sollicitation pressante.
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 | instance |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \ɛ̃s.tɑ̃s\ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #4,681 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 8 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “instance” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for instance is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɛ̃s.tɑ̃s\. Corpus data places it at rank #4,681 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for instance, with forms such as "innstance", "insatnce", and "insstance". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "instant", "instants", "instinct", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is instance, spelled I-N-S-T-A-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1Sollicitation pressante.
- 2Procédure judiciaire.
- 3Degré de juridiction.
- 4Organisation qui a pouvoir de décider.
- 5Élément psychique de la personnalité.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: innstance,insatnce,insstance,instacne,instancce,instanec,instannce,instnace,insttance,intsance,isntance,nistance
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of instance - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "instance"?
What does "instance" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “instance”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is I-N-S-T-A-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \ɛ̃s.tɑ̃s\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “instant” - see the side-by-side comparison. instance vs instant
- Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
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.