miss

\mis\

/\mis\/ noun

The verdict

“miss” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #3,086 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#3,086
frequency rank, French
4
letters
3
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Mademoiselle en Angleterre ou dans le monde anglo-saxon.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

miss vs ms
50% similar
miss vs mit
50% similar
miss vs mix
50% similar

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

Key facts for miss
PropertyValue
Headwordmiss
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\mis\
Letters4
Frequency rank#3,086
Misspellings tracked3
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “miss” 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). miss 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 miss is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \mis\. Corpus data places it at rank #3,086 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 3 likely wrong-spelling variants for miss, with forms such as "imss", "mmiss", and "msis". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ms", "mit", "mix", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is miss, spelled M-I-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mademoiselle en Angleterre ou dans le monde anglo-saxon.
  2. 2
    Lauréate d’un concours de beauté.
  3. 3
    Fille un peu simplette.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: imss,mmiss,msis

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of miss - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

imss2mmiss1msis2
Edit distance from "miss"

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 "miss"?
"miss" is spelled M-I-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is \mis\.
What does "miss" mean?
As a noun, "miss" means: Mademoiselle en Angleterre ou dans le monde anglo-saxon.
What words are commonly confused with "miss"?
"miss" is commonly confused with "ms", "mit", "mix". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "miss"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "miss" is \mis\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "miss" come from?
"miss" 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 “miss”

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

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