patati

\pa.ta.ti\

/\pa.ta.ti\/ onomatopoeia

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

The verdict

“patati” is uncommon French (frequency #63,231 among 248,534 “P” headwords), classed as an onomatopoeia. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,231
frequency rank, French
248,534
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Évoque un bruit de pas.

Key facts for patati
PropertyValue
Headwordpatati
LanguageFrench
Part of speechOnomatopoeia
IPA\pa.ta.ti\
Letters6
Frequency rank#63,231
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “patati” 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). patati lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

patati is uncommon French at frequency #63,231 among 248,534 “P” headwords, classed as anonomatopoeia, transcribed \pa.ta.ti\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for patati, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is patati, spelled P-A-T-A-T-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    Évoque un bruit de pas.
  2. 2
    Suite de paroles prévisibles ou sans importance, continuel bavardage.

This word in other languages

yada yada yada(English)

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 "patati"?
"patati" is spelled P-A-T-A-T-I. The IPA pronunciation is \pa.ta.ti\.
What does "patati" mean?
As an onomatopoeia, "patati" means: Évoque un bruit de pas.
How do you pronounce "patati"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "patati" is \pa.ta.ti\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "patati" come from?
"patati" 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 “patati”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-A-T-A-T-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pa.ta.ti\ (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

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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