méchant

\me.ʃɑ̃\

/\me.ʃɑ̃\/ adj

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

The verdict

“méchant” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #3,476 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#3,476
frequency rank, French
7
letters
12
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Mauvais, contraire de bon.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

méchant vs menant
57% similar
méchant vs mêlant
57% similar
méchant vs Meghan
43% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for méchant
PropertyValue
Headwordméchant
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\me.ʃɑ̃\
Letters7
Frequency rank#3,476
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “méchant” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). méchant lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for méchant is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \me.ʃɑ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #3,476 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 14 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 méchant, with forms such as "mcéhant", "mechant", and "mméchant". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 13 confusable-pair relationships, "menant", "mêlant", "Meghan", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is méchant, spelled M-É-C-H-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mauvais, contraire de bon.
  2. 2
    Sentir méchant : Sentir mauvais.
  3. 3
    Qui ne vaut rien dans son genre, qui est maigre ou insuffisant, de mauvaise qualité ou dans un état déplorable, minable, miteux.
  4. 4
    Sans valeur, incompétent.
  5. 5
    Sans valeur, incompétent.
  6. 6
    Sans valeur, incompétent.
  7. 7
    Sans valeur, incompétent.
  8. 8
    Bon, extraordinaire, fameux, remarquable, énorme ou impressionnant.
  9. 9
    Malfaisant, antonyme : gentil.
  10. 10
    Malfaisant, antonyme : gentil.
  11. 11
    Malfaisant, antonyme : gentil.
  12. 12
    Malfaisant, antonyme : gentil.
  13. 13
    Grave.
  14. 14
    (par antiphrase)

Antonyms

bon

This word in other languages

bad(English)malo(Español)schlecht(Deutsch)mau(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: mcéhant,mechant,mméchant,mécahnt,mécchant,méchannt,méchantt,méchatn,méchhant,méchnat,méhcant,émchant

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of méchant - 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.

mcéhant2mechant1mméchant1mécahnt2mécchant1méchannt1méchantt1méchatn2
Edit distance from "méchant"

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 "méchant"?
"méchant" is spelled M-É-C-H-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \me.ʃɑ̃\.
What does "méchant" mean?
As an adjective, "méchant" means: Mauvais, contraire de bon.
What words are commonly confused with "méchant"?
"méchant" is commonly confused with "menant", "mêlant", "Meghan". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "méchant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "méchant" is \me.ʃɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "méchant" come from?
"méchant" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “méchant”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is M-É-C-H-A-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \me.ʃɑ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “menant” - see the side-by-side comparison. méchant vs menant
  • 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