mum

\ˈmʌm\

/\ˈmʌm\/ noun

The verdict

“mum” is uncommon French (frequency #60,976 among 5,038 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,976
frequency rank, French
5,038
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - , , , , , , , , Maman. Note d’usage : Mis en majuscule si le locuteur réfère à sa mère comme un nom propre.

Corpus desk

Index FR-mum · mum · French

mum · rank #60,976 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,976
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,038
  • PHOTO-FINISH monumentaux

Nearest frequency peer: monumentaux (-2 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 « mum »

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 « mum » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for mum
PropertyValue
Headwordmum
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ˈmʌm\
Letters3
Frequency rank#60,976
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « mum » en français

La fréquence va de la poignée de mots du quotidien (gauche) à la longue queue presque jamais vue (droite).mumtombe dans cette queue de rareté:

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

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Voisins rares de la même bande: « monumentaux » (#60,974), « musiciennes » (#60,978), « Montpelliérains » (#60,973). Parmi 5,038 lemmes en « M », « mum » est au #60,976. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mum is uncommon French at frequency #60,976 among 5,038 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \ˈmʌm\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: ", , , , , , , , Maman. Note d’usage : Mis en majuscule si le locuteur réfère à sa mère comme un nom propre.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for mum, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is mum, spelled M-U-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    , , , , , , , , Maman. Note d’usage : Mis en majuscule si le locuteur réfère à sa mère comme un nom propre.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I don’t think Mum will like you.
  2. I don’t think my mum will like you.

Synonyms

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 "mum"?
"mum" is spelled M-U-M. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈmʌm\.
What does "mum" mean?
As a noun, "mum" means: , , , , , , , , Maman. Note d’usage : Mis en majuscule si le locuteur réfère à sa mère comme un nom propre.
How do you pronounce "mum"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mum" is \ˈmʌm\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "mum" come from?
"mum" 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 "mum", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list