mauvais sort

\mo.vɛ sɔʁ\

/\mo.vɛ sɔʁ\/ noun

The verdict

“mauvais sort” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Maléfice, sortilège jeté par une personne supposée avoir des pouvoirs surnaturels.

Key facts for mauvais sort
PropertyValue
Headwordmauvais sort
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\mo.vɛ sɔʁ\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mauvais sort” sits in French frequency

mauvais sort 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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for mauvais sort is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \mo.vɛ sɔʁ\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

mauvais sort has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is mauvais sort, spelled M-A-U-V-A-I-S- -S-O-R-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Maléfice, sortilège jeté par une personne supposée avoir des pouvoirs surnaturels.
  2. 2
    Destin contraire, malchance.
  3. 3
    Mauvais traitement fait à quelqu’un ou quelque chose.

This word in other languages

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 "mauvais sort"?
"mauvais sort" is spelled M-A-U-V-A-I-S- -S-O-R-T. The IPA pronunciation is \mo.vɛ sɔʁ\.
What does "mauvais sort" mean?
As a noun, "mauvais sort" means: Maléfice, sortilège jeté par une personne supposée avoir des pouvoirs surnaturels.
How do you pronounce "mauvais sort"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mauvais sort" is \mo.vɛ sɔʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "mauvais sort" come from?
"mauvais sort" 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 “mauvais sort”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is M-A-U-V-A-I-S- -S-O-R-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \mo.vɛ sɔʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list