pause

\poz\

/\poz\/ noun

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

The verdict

“pause” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #2,730 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,730
frequency rank, French
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Suspension ou interruption momentanée d’une action.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

pause vs pue
60% similar
pause vs pus
60% similar
pause vs plus
60% similar

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

Key facts for pause
PropertyValue
Headwordpause
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\poz\
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,730
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pause” 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). pause 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 pause is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \poz\. Corpus data places it at rank #2,730 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for pause, with forms such as "apuse", "pasue", and "paues". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pue", "pus", "plus", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is pause, spelled P-A-U-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Suspension ou interruption momentanée d’une action.
  2. 2
    Temps de repos qui interrompt, généralement à intervalles réguliers, un exercice on une marche.
  3. 3
    Silence, intervalle de temps pendant lequel un ou plusieurs musiciens, ou même tous les concertants, demeurent sans chanter, sans jouer.
  4. 4
    Silence de la durée d’une mesure pleine.
  5. 5
    Fonction permettant d’interrompre la lecture d’un enregistrement audio ou vidéo pour le reprendre ultérieurement au point d’interruption.
  6. 6
    Fonction permettant d’interrompre le visionnage d’un programme de télévision diffusé en direct et de le reprendre ultérieurement au point d’interruption en différé.

Synonyms

halte

This word in other languages

pause(English)pausa(Español)Pause(Deutsch)pausa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: apuse,pasue,paues,pausse,ppause,puase

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pause - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

apuse2pasue2paues2pausse1ppause1puase2
Edit distance from "pause"

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 "pause"?
"pause" is spelled P-A-U-S-E. The IPA pronunciation is \poz\.
What does "pause" mean?
As a noun, "pause" means: Suspension ou interruption momentanée d’une action.
What words are commonly confused with "pause"?
"pause" is commonly confused with "pue", "pus", "plus". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pause"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pause" is \poz\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pause" come from?
"pause" 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 “pause”

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

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