petit pois

\pə.ti pwa\

/\pə.ti pwa\/ noun

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

The verdict

“petit pois” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Pois de la variété Pisum sativum L. subsp. sativum var. sativum, dont on mange les graines fraîches avant maturité.

Key facts for petit pois
PropertyValue
Headwordpetit pois
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pə.ti pwa\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “petit pois” sits in French frequency

petit pois falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

petit pois is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \pə.ti pwa\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for petit pois in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is petit pois, spelled P-E-T-I-T- -P-O-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pois de la variété Pisum sativum L. subsp. sativum var. sativum, dont on mange les graines fraîches avant maturité.
  2. 2
    Magistrat.

Synonyms

pois potagerpois des jardins

This word in other languages

guisante(Español)Erbse(Deutsch)ervilha(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "petit pois"?
"petit pois" is spelled P-E-T-I-T- -P-O-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is \pə.ti pwa\.
What does "petit pois" mean?
As a noun, "petit pois" means: Pois de la variété Pisum sativum L. subsp. sativum var. sativum, dont on mange les graines fraîches avant maturité.
How do you pronounce "petit pois"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "petit pois" is \pə.ti pwa\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "petit pois" come from?
"petit pois" 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 “petit pois”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-E-T-I-T- -P-O-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pə.ti pwa\ (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
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