maîtrise
\mɛ.tʁiz\
The verdict
“maîtrise” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #3,276 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #3,276
- frequency rank, French
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 12
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qualité de maître, en parlant des métiers.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | maîtrise |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \mɛ.tʁiz\ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #3,276 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 12 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “maîtrise” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for maîtrise is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \mɛ.tʁiz\. Corpus data places it at rank #3,276 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for maîtrise, with forms such as "amîtrise", "maitrise", and "matîrise". 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 12 confusable-pair relationships, "matrice", "maîtriser", "maîtrisée", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is maîtrise, spelled M-A-Î-T-R-I-S-E.
Definition
- 1Qualité de maître, en parlant des métiers.
- 2Ensemble des contremaîtres d’un atelier, d’une usine.
- 3Diplôme universitaire national créé en 1966 et supprimé par la réforme LMD, préparé en un an après une licence universitaire ou tout diplôme équivalent (remplacé par le master nécessitant lui une année d’études supplémentaire).
- 4Acte par lequel on marque la supériorité dans un art ou dans une science.
- 5Action de dominer quelque chose ou quelqu’un.
- 6Domination de soi.
- 7Charge ou dignité de maître ou de grand-maître.
- 8Emploi de maître de chapelle dans une église cathédrale.
- 9Ensemble des enfants de chœur qui chantent sous la direction du maître de chapelle.
- 10Chœur laïc d’enfants.
- 11Diplôme académique supérieur, normalement attribué après le baccalauréat, équivalent du master nord-américain.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: amîtrise,maitrise,matîrise,maîrtise,maîtirse,maîtries,maîtrisse,maîtrrise,maîtrsie,maîttrise,mmaîtrise,mîatrise
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of maîtrise - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "maîtrise"?
What does "maîtrise" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "maîtrise"?
How do you pronounce "maîtrise"?
What language does "maîtrise" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “maîtrise”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is M-A-Î-T-R-I-S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \mɛ.tʁiz\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “matrice” - see the side-by-side comparison. maîtrise vs matrice
- 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.