müssen

\ˈmʏsn̩\

/\ˈmʏsn̩\/ verb

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

The verdict

“müssen” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - (l’infinitif remplace le participe passé) Devoir, falloir, être obligé.

Key facts for müssen
PropertyValue
Headwordmüssen
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ˈmʏsn̩\
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “müssen” sits in French frequency

müssen falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

müssen is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \ˈmʏsn̩\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for müssen in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is müssen, spelled M-Ü-S-S-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    (l’infinitif remplace le participe passé) Devoir, falloir, être obligé.
  2. 2
    Devoir (probabilité).
  3. 3
    Devoir.
  4. 4
    Devoir aller (quelque part).
  5. 5
    Verbe auxiliaire pour exprimer une précondition.
  6. 6
    Devoir dû à des motifs personnels.
  7. 7
    en subjonctif II, exprime un désir..

Synonyms

notwendig seinfür nötig haltenverpflichtet seinsollen

Antonyms

dürfen

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "müssen"?
"müssen" is spelled M-Ü-S-S-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈmʏsn̩\.
What does "müssen" mean?
As a verb, "müssen" means: (l’infinitif remplace le participe passé) Devoir, falloir, être obligé.
How do you pronounce "müssen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "müssen" is \ˈmʏsn̩\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "müssen" come from?
"müssen" 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 “müssen”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is M-Ü-S-S-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ˈmʏsn̩\ (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