kawaï

\ka.waj\

/\ka.waj\/ adj

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Variante orthographique de kawaii. Mignon, spécialement en parlant de la pop culture japonaise.

Corpus desk

Index FR-kawai · kawaï · French

kawaï · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "K" 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 kawaï
PropertyValue
Headwordkawaï
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ka.waj\
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « kawaï » en français

kawaïsiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

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

Rare enough to double-check

kawaï is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \ka.waj\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Variante orthographique de kawaii. Mignon, spécialement en parlant de la pop culture japonaise.".

kawaï doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is kawaï, spelled K-A-W-A-Ï.

Definition

  1. 1
    Variante orthographique de kawaii. Mignon, spécialement en parlant de la pop culture japonaise.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Vous le savez, je suis une Kitty addict, rien donc d’étonnant que dès que je suis à vue d’une moustache so kawaï du petit chat japonais, je sois en ébullition.
  2. Assez kawaï, le cake à la rose barbie.

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 "kawaï"?
"kawaï" is spelled K-A-W-A-Ï. The IPA pronunciation is \ka.waj\.
What does "kawaï" mean?
As an adjective, "kawaï" means: Variante orthographique de kawaii. Mignon, spécialement en parlant de la pop culture japonaise.
How do you pronounce "kawaï"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kawaï" is \ka.waj\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "kawaï" come from?
"kawaï" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list