permafrost

\pɛʁ.ma.fʁɔst\

/\pɛʁ.ma.fʁɔst\/ noun

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

The verdict

“permafrost” is uncommon French (frequency #67,769 among 248,534 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,769
frequency rank, French
248,534
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Couche de sol gelé en permanence.

Key facts for permafrost
PropertyValue
Headwordpermafrost
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pɛʁ.ma.fʁɔst\
Letters10
Frequency rank#67,769
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “permafrost” 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). permafrost 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

permafrost is uncommon French at frequency #67,769 among 248,534 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \pɛʁ.ma.fʁɔst\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Couche de sol gelé en permanence.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for permafrost, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is permafrost, spelled P-E-R-M-A-F-R-O-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Couche de sol gelé en permanence.

Synonyms

pergélisolpermagelpermagélisolmerzlota

This word in other languages

permafrost(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 "permafrost"?
"permafrost" is spelled P-E-R-M-A-F-R-O-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is \pɛʁ.ma.fʁɔst\.
What does "permafrost" mean?
As a noun, "permafrost" means: Couche de sol gelé en permanence.
How do you pronounce "permafrost"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "permafrost" is \pɛʁ.ma.fʁɔst\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "permafrost" come from?
"permafrost" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “permafrost”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-E-R-M-A-F-R-O-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pɛʁ.ma.fʁɔst\ (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