modal

\mo.dal\

/\mo.dal\/ adj

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

The verdict

“modal” is uncommon French (frequency #52,838 among 5,038 “M” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,838
frequency rank, French
5,038
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qui se rapporte aux modes d'une substance.

Corpus desk

Index FR-modal · modal · French

modal · rank #52,838 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,838
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,038
  • PHOTO-FINISH modulaires

Nearest frequency peer: modulaires (+1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rangs de longue queue près de « modal »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « modal » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for modal
PropertyValue
Headwordmodal
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\mo.dal\
Letters5
Frequency rank#52,838
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « modal » en français

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).modaltombe dans cette queue de rareté:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Voisins rares de la même bande: « modulaires » (#52,839), « Mississipi » (#52,835), « Mogador » (#52,841). Parmi 5,038 lemmes en « M », « modal » est au #52,838. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

modal is uncommon French at frequency #52,838 among 5,038 “M” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed \mo.dal\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for modal in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is modal, spelled M-O-D-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui se rapporte aux modes d'une substance.
  2. 2
    Rapporté au sujet selon un mode déterminé (possibilité ou impossibilité, nécessité ou contingence). → voir modale, ellipse de proposition modale.
  3. 3
    Qui force une réponse avant de poursuivre.
  4. 4
    Qui est propre aux modes du verbe ou qui les caractérise.
  5. 5
    Relatif aux différents modes musicaux. Se dit aussi parfois d'une musique qui emploie d'autres échelles que l'échelle tonale.
  6. 6
    Relatif aux modes de transport.
  7. 7
    Qui a la fréquence la plus élevée.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how modal appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Proposition modale.
  2. Logique modale, partie de la logique qui étudie les propriétés des propositions modales.

This word in other languages

modal(English)modal(Deutsch)

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 "modal"?
"modal" is spelled M-O-D-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is \mo.dal\.
What does "modal" mean?
As an adjective, "modal" means: Qui se rapporte aux modes d'une substance.
How do you pronounce "modal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "modal" is \mo.dal\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "modal" come from?
"modal" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "modal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

minot#52,834moira#52,842nacer#52,859nanti#52,861

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list