kitten

\ˈkɪtn̩\

/\ˈkɪtn̩\/ verb

The verdict

“kitten” is uncommon French (frequency #82,162 among 737 “K” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#82,162
frequency rank, French
737
“K” headwords

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

Corpus desk

Index FR-kitten · kitten · French

kitten · rank #82,162 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #82,162
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 737
  • PHOTO-FINISH Keylor

Nearest frequency peer: Keylor (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rangs de longue queue près de « kitten »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « kitten » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for kitten
PropertyValue
Headwordkitten
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ˈkɪtn̩\
Letters6
Frequency rank#82,162
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « kitten » en français

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).kittentombe dans cette queue de rareté:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Voisins rares de la même bande: « Keylor » (#82,161), « Koekelberg » (#82,163), « Kew » (#82,160). Parmi 737 lemmes en « K », « kitten » est au #82,162. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

kitten is uncommon French at frequency #82,162 among 737 “K” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed \ˈkɪtn̩\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for kitten in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is kitten, spelled K-I-T-T-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mastiquer.
  2. 2
    Réparer, recoller.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Expertinnen und Experten schätzen, dass 70 Prozent aller abgebrochenen Beziehungen zwischen Eltern und Kindern wieder gekittet werden.

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 "kitten"?
"kitten" is spelled K-I-T-T-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈkɪtn̩\.
What does "kitten" mean?
As a verb, "kitten" means: Mastiquer.
How do you pronounce "kitten"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kitten" is \ˈkɪtn̩\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "kitten" come from?
"kitten" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "kitten", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list