méconnaître

\me.kɔ.nɛtʁ\

/\me.kɔ.nɛtʁ\/ verb

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

The verdict

“méconnaître” is uncommon French (frequency #54,115 among 202,672 “M” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,115
frequency rank, French
202,672
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Ne pas reconnaître.

Key facts for méconnaître
PropertyValue
Headwordméconnaître
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\me.kɔ.nɛtʁ\
Letters11
Frequency rank#54,115
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “méconnaître” 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). méconnaître lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

méconnaître is uncommon French at frequency #54,115 among 202,672 “M” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed \me.kɔ.nɛtʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for méconnaître in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is méconnaître, spelled M-É-C-O-N-N-A-Î-T-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ne pas reconnaître.
  2. 2
    Désavouer quelqu’un en affectant de ne pas le connaître.
  3. 3
    Ne pas rendre justice à une personne ; ne pas apprécier une qualité, une chose comme elle le mérite.
  4. 4
    Se tromper sur soi-même.

This word in other languages

misread(English)ignorieren(Deutsch)

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 "méconnaître"?
"méconnaître" is spelled M-É-C-O-N-N-A-Î-T-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \me.kɔ.nɛtʁ\.
What does "méconnaître" mean?
As a verb, "méconnaître" means: Ne pas reconnaître.
How do you pronounce "méconnaître"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "méconnaître" is \me.kɔ.nɛtʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "méconnaître" come from?
"méconnaître" 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 “méconnaître”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is M-É-C-O-N-N-A-Î-T-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \me.kɔ.nɛtʁ\ (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

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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