méli-mélo

\me.li.me.lo\

/\me.li.me.lo\/ noun

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

The verdict

“méli-mélo” 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
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Variante orthographique de mélimélo.

Key facts for méli-mélo
PropertyValue
Headwordméli-mélo
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\me.li.me.lo\
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “méli-mélo” sits in French frequency

méli-mélo 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 méli-mélo is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \me.li.me.lo\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Variante orthographique de mélimélo.".

No misspelling variants are generated for méli-mélo in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is méli-mélo, spelled M-É-L-I---M-É-L-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Variante orthographique de mélimélo.

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 "méli-mélo"?
"méli-mélo" is spelled M-É-L-I---M-É-L-O. The IPA pronunciation is \me.li.me.lo\.
What does "méli-mélo" mean?
As a noun, "méli-mélo" means: Variante orthographique de mélimélo.
How do you pronounce "méli-mélo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "méli-mélo" is \me.li.me.lo\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "méli-mélo" come from?
"méli-mélo" 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 “méli-mélo”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is M-É-L-I---M-É-L-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \me.li.me.lo\ (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