lieutenant

Name: lieutenant, French Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

\ljøt.nɑ̃\

/\ljøt.nɑ̃\/ noun

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“lieutenant” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #2,523 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,523
frequency rank, French: 10
letters: 14
tracked misspellings: 1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Celui qui est immédiatement au-dessous d’un chef, qu’il supplée dans certains cas.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

lieutenant vs lieutenants

91% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for lieutenant
Property	Value
Headword	lieutenant
Language	French
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	\ljøt.nɑ̃\
Letters	10
Frequency rank	#2,523
Misspellings tracked	14
Confusable pairs	1
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “lieutenant” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). lieutenant lands here:

#2,523

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for lieutenant is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ljøt.nɑ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #2,523 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for lieutenant, with forms such as "ileutenant", "leiutenant", and "lietuenant". 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. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "lieutenants", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is lieutenant, spelled L-I-E-U-T-E-N-A-N-T.

Definition

1
Celui qui est immédiatement au-dessous d’un chef, qu’il supplée dans certains cas.
2
Grade donné à un officier subalterne. En France, dans l’armée de terre, l’armée de l’air et la gendarmerie nationale, il est situé entre son supérieur hiérarchique, le capitaine, et son subordonné, le sous-lieutenant. Ce grade correspond à celui d’enseigne de vaisseau de première classe (non pas de lieutenant de vaisseau) dans la Marine nationale française.
3
Grade existant dans un corps policier. Il peut être fédéral, provincial ou municipal.
4
Grade d’officiers de services civils.
5
Celui à qui le souverain déléguait dans certains cas une part de son autorité.
6
Auxiliaire.
7
Grade d’officier des Forces armées canadiennes.

This word in other languages

lieutenant(English)teniente(Español)Oberleutnant(Deutsch)tenente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ileutenant,leiutenant,lietuenant,lieuetnant,lieuteannt,lieutenannt,lieutenantt,lieutenatn,lieutennant,lieutennat,lieutneant,lieuttenant,liuetenant,llieutenant

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "lieutenant"

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 "lieutenant"?

"lieutenant" is spelled L-I-E-U-T-E-N-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \ljøt.nɑ̃\.

What does "lieutenant" mean?

As a noun, "lieutenant" means: Celui qui est immédiatement au-dessous d’un chef, qu’il supplée dans certains cas.

What words are commonly confused with "lieutenant"?

"lieutenant" is commonly confused with "lieutenants". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "lieutenant"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lieutenant" is \ljøt.nɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What language does "lieutenant" come from?

"lieutenant" 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.

Using “lieutenant”

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

The one correct French spelling is L-I-E-U-T-E-N-A-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as \ljøt.nɑ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “lieutenants” - see the side-by-side comparison. lieutenant vs lieutenants
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.