nightmare

\ˈnaɪt.mɛɹ\

/\ˈnaɪt.mɛɹ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“nightmare” has 14 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #40,887. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#40,887
frequency rank, French
1,563
“N” headwords
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Cauchemar.

Corpus desk

Index FR-nightmare · nightmare · French

nightmare · rank #40,887 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #40,887
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,563
  • PHOTO-FINISH normative

Nearest frequency peer: normative (+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.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « nightmare »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « nightmare » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for nightmare
PropertyValue
Headwordnightmare
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ˈnaɪt.mɛɹ\
Letters9
Frequency rank#40,887
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « nightmare »

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.nightmarese place ici:

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

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « normative » (#40,888), « narguer » (#40,885), « Nothomb » (#40,889). Parmi 1,563 lemmes en « N », « nightmare » est au #40,887. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around nightmare (IPA \ˈnaɪt.mɛɹ\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #40,887 among 1,563 “N” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Cauchemar.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for nightmare, with forms such as "inghtmare", "ngihtmare", and "nigghtmare". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is nightmare, spelled N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Cauchemar.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. — Sweet nightmares.
  2. In engineering, freedom of expression can lead to maintenance nightmares.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • inghtmare
  • ngihtmare
  • nigghtmare
  • nighhtmare
  • nighmtare
  • nightamre
  • nightmaer
  • nightmarre
  • nightmmare
  • nightmrae
  • nighttmare
  • nigthmare
  • nihgtmare
  • nnightmare

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of nightmare - 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.

inghtmare2ngihtmare2nigghtmare1nighhtmare1nighmtare2nightamre2nightmaer2nightmarre1
Edit distance from "nightmare"

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 "nightmare"?
"nightmare" is spelled N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈnaɪt.mɛɹ\.
What does "nightmare" mean?
As a noun, "nightmare" means: Cauchemar.
What are common misspellings of "nightmare"?
Common misspellings include "inghtmare", "ngihtmare", "nigghtmare", "nighhtmare", "nighmtare". The correct spelling is "nightmare".
How do you pronounce "nightmare"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nightmare" is \ˈnaɪt.mɛɹ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nightmare" come from?
"nightmare" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

normative#40,888opticiens#40,896pamphlets#40,904paralysés#40,906

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

obligerait14 variantsobsessionnel14 variantsmutualiser14 variantsmaladresses14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list