misère

\mi.zɛʁ\

/\mi.zɛʁ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“misère” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #4,354 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#4,354
frequency rank, French
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Condition, état de celui qui inspire la pitié.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

misère vs musée
50% similar
misère vs mises
50% similar
misère vs mixer
50% similar

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

Key facts for misère
PropertyValue
Headwordmisère
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\mi.zɛʁ\
Letters6
Frequency rank#4,354
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “misère” 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). misère 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 misère is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \mi.zɛʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #4,354 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for misère, with forms such as "imsère", "misere", and "misrèe". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "musée", "mises", "mixer", 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 pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is misère, spelled M-I-S-È-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Condition, état de celui qui inspire la pitié.
  2. 2
    État de faiblesse et de néantise de l’homme.
  3. 3
    Privation des choses nécessaires à la vie.
  4. 4
    Au XVIIIᵉ siècle, chanson anonyme décrivant les épreuves et malheurs de certaines professions.
  5. 5
    Bagatelle, chose de peu d’importance et de valeur.
  6. 6
    Pénis.
  7. 7
    Nom usuel de diverses plantes ornementale du genre Tradescantia, de la famille des commélinacées.
  8. 8
    Difficulté. → voir avoir de la misère
  9. 9
    Malchance.

This word in other languages

misery(English)miseria(Español)Elend(Deutsch)miséria(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: imsère,misere,misrèe,missère,misèer,misèrre,mièsre,mmisère,msière

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of misère - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

imsère2misere1misrèe2missère1misèer2misèrre1mièsre2mmisère1
Edit distance from "misère"

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 "misère"?
"misère" is spelled M-I-S-È-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \mi.zɛʁ\.
What does "misère" mean?
As a noun, "misère" means: Condition, état de celui qui inspire la pitié.
What words are commonly confused with "misère"?
"misère" is commonly confused with "musée", "mises", "mixer". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "misère"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "misère" is \mi.zɛʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "misère" come from?
"misère" 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 “misère”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is M-I-S-È-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \mi.zɛʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “musée” - see the side-by-side comparison. misère vs musée
  • 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