leitmotiv

\lajt.mɔ.tif\

/\lajt.mɔ.tif\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“leitmotiv” has 13 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #33,755. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#33,755
frequency rank, French
2,567
“L” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Thème qui revient fréquemment dans une partition.

Corpus desk

Index FR-leitmotiv · leitmotiv · French

leitmotiv · rank #33,755 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #33,755
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,567
  • PHOTO-FINISH landau

Nearest frequency peer: landau (-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.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « leitmotiv »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « leitmotiv » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for leitmotiv
PropertyValue
Headwordleitmotiv
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\lajt.mɔ.tif\
Letters9
Frequency rank#33,755
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « leitmotiv »

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).leitmotivse place ici:

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

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « landau » (#33,754), « lemon » (#33,756), « lamentations » (#33,753). Parmi 2,567 lemmes en « L », « leitmotiv » est au #33,755. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around leitmotiv (IPA \lajt.mɔ.tif\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #33,755 among 2,567 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for leitmotiv, with forms such as "elitmotiv", "leimtotiv", and "leitmmotiv". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is leitmotiv, spelled L-E-I-T-M-O-T-I-V.

Definition

  1. 1
    Thème qui revient fréquemment dans une partition.
  2. 2
    Phrase ou slogan qui revient régulièrement, d’une façon symbolique, dans un discours, un écrit.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Les personnages des drames lyriques de Richard Wagner sont en général caractérisés par un leitmotiv.
  2. Puis, très volubile, il me donna un « digest » de la pensée politique des officiers de pacification : « Nous ne partirons pas », c’était le leitmotiv.

This word in other languages

leitmotif(English)leitmotiv(Español)Leitmotiv(Deutsch)leitmotiv(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elitmotiv
  • leimtotiv
  • leitmmotiv
  • leitmoitv
  • leitmotivv
  • leitmottiv
  • leitmotvi
  • leitmtoiv
  • leitomtiv
  • leittmotiv
  • letimotiv
  • lietmotiv
  • lleitmotiv

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of leitmotiv - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

elitmotiv2leimtotiv2leitmmotiv1leitmoitv2leitmotivv1leitmottiv1leitmotvi2leitmtoiv2
Edit distance from "leitmotiv"

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 "leitmotiv"?
"leitmotiv" is spelled L-E-I-T-M-O-T-I-V. The IPA pronunciation is \lajt.mɔ.tif\.
What does "leitmotiv" mean?
As a noun, "leitmotiv" means: Thème qui revient fréquemment dans une partition.
What are common misspellings of "leitmotiv"?
Common misspellings include "elitmotiv", "leimtotiv", "leitmmotiv", "leitmoitv", "leitmotivv". The correct spelling is "leitmotiv".
How do you pronounce "leitmotiv"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "leitmotiv" is \lajt.mɔ.tif\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "leitmotiv" come from?
"leitmotiv" 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 "leitmotiv", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Machiavel#33,768majorités#33,771incendier#33,734manœuvrer#33,776

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

impassible13 variantsMoscovici13 variantsglorifier13 variantsorgueilleux13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list