penser

\pɑ̃.se\

/\pɑ̃.se\/ verb

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

The verdict

“penser” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #694 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#694
frequency rank, French
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Exercer l’activité de l’esprit ; accomplir quelque opération de l’intelligence ; concevoir ; imaginer ; réfléchir.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

penser vs poser
67% similar
penser vs pente
67% similar
penser vs péter
50% similar

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

Key facts for penser
PropertyValue
Headwordpenser
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\pɑ̃.se\
Letters6
Frequency rank#694
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “penser” 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). penser 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 penser is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pɑ̃.se\. Corpus data places it at rank #694 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for penser, with forms such as "epnser", "penesr", and "pennser". 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 also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "poser", "pente", "péter", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is penser, spelled P-E-N-S-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Exercer l’activité de l’esprit ; accomplir quelque opération de l’intelligence ; concevoir ; imaginer ; réfléchir.
  2. 2
    Croire.
  3. 3
    Estimer.
  4. 4
    Avoir une opinion.
  5. 5
    Avoir des tendances intellectuelles, des préférences d’esprit et de goût.
  6. 6
    Avoir dans l’esprit.
  7. 7
    Avoir présent à l’esprit ; avoir le cœur occupé de.
  8. 8
    Se souvenir.
  9. 9
    Prévoir et pourvoir.
  10. 10
    Vouloir, former un dessein, avoir une intention.
  11. 11
    Être sur le point de ; faillir.

Synonyms

cogiter

This word in other languages

think(English)pensar(Español)denken(Deutsch)pensar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: epnser,penesr,pennser,penserr,pensre,pensser,pesner,pneser,ppenser

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

epnser2penesr2pennser1penserr1pensre2pensser1pesner2pneser2
Edit distance from "penser"

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 "penser"?
"penser" is spelled P-E-N-S-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \pɑ̃.se\.
What does "penser" mean?
As a verb, "penser" means: Exercer l’activité de l’esprit ; accomplir quelque opération de l’intelligence ; concevoir ; imaginer ; réfléchir.
What words are commonly confused with "penser"?
"penser" is commonly confused with "poser", "pente", "péter". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "penser"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "penser" is \pɑ̃.se\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "penser" come from?
"penser" 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 “penser”

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

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