miserable

\mizəˈʁaːblə\

/\mizəˈʁaːblə\/ adj

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

The verdict

“miserable” is an uncommon French word, ranked #87,850 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#87,850
frequency rank, French
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Accusatif féminin singulier de la déclinaison faible de miserabel.

Key facts for miserable
PropertyValue
Headwordmiserable
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\mizəˈʁaːblə\
Letters9
Frequency rank#87,850
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “miserable” 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). miserable 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 miserable is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \mizəˈʁaːblə\. Corpus data places it at rank #87,850 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for miserable in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is miserable, spelled M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Accusatif féminin singulier de la déclinaison faible de miserabel.
  2. 2
    Accusatif féminin singulier de la déclinaison forte de miserabel.
  3. 3
    Accusatif féminin singulier de la déclinaison mixte de miserabel.
  4. 4
    Accusatif neutre singulier de la déclinaison faible de miserabel.
  5. 5
    Accusatif pluriel (à tous les genres) de la déclinaison forte de miserabel.
  6. 6
    Nominatif féminin singulier de la déclinaison forte de miserabel.
  7. 7
    Nominatif féminin singulier de la déclinaison mixte de miserabel.
  8. 8
    Nominatif pluriel (à tous les genres) de la déclinaison forte de miserabel.
  9. 9
    Nominatif singulier (à tous les genres) de la déclinaison faible de miserabel.

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 "miserable"?
"miserable" is spelled M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \mizəˈʁaːblə\.
What does "miserable" mean?
As an adjective, "miserable" means: Accusatif féminin singulier de la déclinaison faible de miserabel.
How do you pronounce "miserable"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "miserable" is \mizəˈʁaːblə\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "miserable" come from?
"miserable" 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 “miserable”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \mizəˈʁaːblə\ (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