meow

\miˈaʊ̯\

/\miˈaʊ̯\/ onomatopoeia

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

The verdict

“meow” is uncommon French (frequency #98,243 among 202,672 “M” headwords), classed as an onomatopoeia. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#98,243
frequency rank, French
202,672
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Miaou (onomatopée exprimant le cri du chat).

Key facts for meow
PropertyValue
Headwordmeow
LanguageFrench
Part of speechOnomatopoeia
IPA\miˈaʊ̯\
Letters4
Frequency rank#98,243
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “meow” 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). meow 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

meow is uncommon French at frequency #98,243 among 202,672 “M” headwords, classed as anonomatopoeia, transcribed \miˈaʊ̯\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

meow has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, 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 easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is meow, spelled M-E-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    Miaou (onomatopée exprimant le cri du chat).
  2. 2
    Utilisé pour répondre à une remarque blessante.
  3. 3
    Expression de séduction imitant un feulement.

Synonyms

mew

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 "meow"?
"meow" is spelled M-E-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is \miˈaʊ̯\.
What does "meow" mean?
As an onomatopoeia, "meow" means: Miaou (onomatopée exprimant le cri du chat).
How do you pronounce "meow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "meow" is \miˈaʊ̯\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "meow" come from?
"meow" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “meow”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is M-E-O-W - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \miˈaʊ̯\ (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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list