mais que

\mɛ kə\

/\mɛ kə\/ conj

The verdict

“mais que” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a conjunction. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - ou (Suivi du subjonctif) Lorsque, quand, aussitôt que, dès que.

Corpus desk

Index FR-mais-que · mais que · French

mais que · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "M" 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 mais que
PropertyValue
Headwordmais que
LanguageFrench
Part of speechConjunction
IPA\mɛ kə\
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « mais que » en français

mais quen'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

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

Rare enough to double-check

mais que is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as aconjunction, transcribed \mɛ kə\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "ou (Suivi du subjonctif) Lorsque, quand, aussitôt que, dès que.".

mais que doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is mais que, spelled M-A-I-S- -Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    ou (Suivi du subjonctif) Lorsque, quand, aussitôt que, dès que.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. On verra ça mais que tu viennes.
  2. En français québécois familier, pour exprimer l'idée de « quand » ou « dès que », on peut dire minque ou mek, selon les régions. […] En fait, il s'agit tout simplement de mais que.

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 "mais que"?
"mais que" is spelled M-A-I-S- -Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is \mɛ kə\.
What does "mais que" mean?
As a conjunction, "mais que" means: ou (Suivi du subjonctif) Lorsque, quand, aussitôt que, dès que.
How do you pronounce "mais que"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mais que" is \mɛ kə\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "mais que" come from?
"mais que" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list