mal famé

\mal fa.me\

/\mal fa.me\/ adj

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

The verdict

“mal famé” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui a mauvaise réputation.

Corpus desk

Index FR-mal-fame · mal famé · French

mal famé · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 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 mal famé
PropertyValue
Headwordmal famé
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\mal fa.me\
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mal famé” sits in French frequency

mal famé 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.

Rare enough to double-check

mal famé is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \mal fa.me\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Qui a mauvaise réputation.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for mal famé, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is mal famé, spelled M-A-L- -F-A-M-É.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui a mauvaise réputation.

This word in other languages

berüchtigt(Deutsch)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mal famé"?
"mal famé" is spelled M-A-L- -F-A-M-É. The IPA pronunciation is \mal fa.me\.
What does "mal famé" mean?
As an adjective, "mal famé" means: Qui a mauvaise réputation.
How do you pronounce "mal famé"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mal famé" is \mal fa.me\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "mal famé" come from?
"mal famé" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.
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