pastiche

\pas.tiʃ\

/\pas.tiʃ\/ noun

The verdict

“pastiche” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #42,510 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#42,510
frequency rank, French
8
letters
12
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Imitation de la manière d’un artiste ou d’un écrivain, soit par jeu, soit à dessein de suggérer la critique des procédés que l’on contrefait.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

pastiche vs pastille
75% similar
pastiche vs pistache
75% similar

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

Key facts for pastiche
PropertyValue
Headwordpastiche
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pas.tiʃ\
Letters8
Frequency rank#42,510
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pastiche” 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). pastiche 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 pastiche is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pas.tiʃ\. Corpus data places it at rank #42,510 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for pastiche, with forms such as "apstiche", "pasitche", and "passtiche". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "pastille", "pistache", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is pastiche, spelled P-A-S-T-I-C-H-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Imitation de la manière d’un artiste ou d’un écrivain, soit par jeu, soit à dessein de suggérer la critique des procédés que l’on contrefait.
  2. 2
    Imitation du costume, du ton et du style d’une époque.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: apstiche,pasitche,passtiche,pastcihe,pasticche,pasticeh,pastichhe,pastihce,pasttiche,patsiche,ppastiche,psatiche

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pastiche - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

apstiche2pasitche2passtiche1pastcihe2pasticche1pasticeh2pastichhe1pastihce2
Edit distance from "pastiche"

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 "pastiche"?
"pastiche" is spelled P-A-S-T-I-C-H-E. The IPA pronunciation is \pas.tiʃ\.
What does "pastiche" mean?
As a noun, "pastiche" means: Imitation de la manière d’un artiste ou d’un écrivain, soit par jeu, soit à dessein de suggérer la critique des procédés que l’on contrefait.
What words are commonly confused with "pastiche"?
"pastiche" is commonly confused with "pastille", "pistache". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pastiche"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pastiche" is \pas.tiʃ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pastiche" come from?
"pastiche" 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.

Using “pastiche”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-A-S-T-I-C-H-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pas.tiʃ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “pastille” - see the side-by-side comparison. pastiche vs pastille
  • 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