langue étrangère

\lɑ̃.ɡ‿e.tʁɑ̃.ʒɛʁ\

/\lɑ̃.ɡ‿e.tʁɑ̃.ʒɛʁ\/ noun

The verdict

“langue étrangère” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Langue qui n’est pas la langue maternelle d’une personne.

Key facts for langue étrangère
PropertyValue
Headwordlangue étrangère
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\lɑ̃.ɡ‿e.tʁɑ̃.ʒɛʁ\
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “langue étrangère” sits in French frequency

langue étrangère falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for langue étrangère is 16 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \lɑ̃.ɡ‿e.tʁɑ̃.ʒɛʁ\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Langue qui n’est pas la langue maternelle d’une personne.".

Zero misspellings are on record for langue étrangère in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is langue étrangère, spelled L-A-N-G-U-E- -É-T-R-A-N-G-È-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Langue qui n’est pas la langue maternelle d’une personne.

This word in other languages

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 "langue étrangère"?
"langue étrangère" is spelled L-A-N-G-U-E- -É-T-R-A-N-G-È-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \lɑ̃.ɡ‿e.tʁɑ̃.ʒɛʁ\.
What does "langue étrangère" mean?
As a noun, "langue étrangère" means: Langue qui n’est pas la langue maternelle d’une personne.
How do you pronounce "langue étrangère"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "langue étrangère" is \lɑ̃.ɡ‿e.tʁɑ̃.ʒɛʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "langue étrangère" come from?
"langue étrangère" 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.

Using “langue étrangère”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is L-A-N-G-U-E- -É-T-R-A-N-G-È-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \lɑ̃.ɡ‿e.tʁɑ̃.ʒɛʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list