mauvaise foi

\mɔ.vɛz fwa\

/\mɔ.vɛz fwa\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Hypocrisie dans les paroles, dans les propos.

Corpus desk

Index FR-mauvaise-foi · mauvaise foi · French

mauvaise foi · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-7 7 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 mauvaise foi
PropertyValue
Headwordmauvaise foi
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\mɔ.vɛz fwa\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « mauvaise foi » en français

mauvaise foin'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

mauvaise foi is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \mɔ.vɛz fwa\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for mauvaise foi, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is mauvaise foi, spelled M-A-U-V-A-I-S-E- -F-O-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    Hypocrisie dans les paroles, dans les propos.
  2. 2
    Refus plus ou moins conscient de reconnaitre une vérité, ou sa propre erreur.
  3. 3
    Dans la philosophie sartrienne, posture de la personne qui joue le rôle qui lui est attribué par la société ou par une autre instance extérieure à elle, sans prendre conscience de sa liberté totale d'humain.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Le Truculentus représente la vie et les gestes d'une gueuse, qui, par sa rapacité, ses éhontements et l'impudence de sa mauvaise foi, révolterait même les blasés de nos petits théâtres.
  2. Silence, voyons, dit le maire. Chacun doit écouter avec courtoisie l'adversaire, même s'il est de mauvaise foi, même s'il manque de civilité ! Exprimons-nous poliment. Rétorquons de même, sans nous départir de sang-froid.

Synonyms

Antonyms

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 "mauvaise foi"?
"mauvaise foi" is spelled M-A-U-V-A-I-S-E- -F-O-I. The IPA pronunciation is \mɔ.vɛz fwa\.
What does "mauvaise foi" mean?
As a noun, "mauvaise foi" means: Hypocrisie dans les paroles, dans les propos.
How do you pronounce "mauvaise foi"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mauvaise foi" is \mɔ.vɛz fwa\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "mauvaise foi" come from?
"mauvaise foi" 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