irrational

\ˈɪʁat͡si̯onaːl\

/\ˈɪʁat͡si̯onaːl\/ adj

The verdict

“irrational” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Irrationnel

Corpus desk

Index FR-irrational · irrational · French

irrational · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "I" 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 irrational
PropertyValue
Headwordirrational
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ˈɪʁat͡si̯onaːl\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « irrational » en français

irrationaln'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

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

Rare enough to double-check

irrational is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \ˈɪʁat͡si̯onaːl\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Irrationnel".

No generated misspelling entries exist for irrational in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is irrational, spelled I-R-R-A-T-I-O-N-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Irrationnel

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Sofortmaßnahmen zum Spritsparen, wie es ein schnell umsetzbares Tempolimit für Autobahnen wäre, oder autofreie Sonntage? Dass sich die FDP dagegen stemmt, aber den Sprit verbilligen will, zeigt, wie irrational und anachronistisch ihr Verhältnis zum Auto ist.

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 "irrational"?
"irrational" is spelled I-R-R-A-T-I-O-N-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈɪʁat͡si̯onaːl\.
What does "irrational" mean?
As an adjective, "irrational" means: Irrationnel
How do you pronounce "irrational"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "irrational" is \ˈɪʁat͡si̯onaːl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "irrational" come from?
"irrational" 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