phène

\fɛn\

/\fɛn\/ noun

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

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - apocope de phène des Alpes, un rapace dénommé aujourd’hui le gypaète barbu.

Corpus desk

Index FR-phene · phène · French

phène · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "P" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for phène
PropertyValue
Headwordphène
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\fɛn\
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “phène” sits in French frequency

phènefalls 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

phène is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \fɛn\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "apocope de phène des Alpes, un rapace dénommé aujourd’hui le gypaète barbu.".

phène doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is phène, spelled P-H-È-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    apocope de phène des Alpes, un rapace dénommé aujourd’hui le gypaète barbu.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how phène appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Marie Heuret chargée de mission à l'association Asters qui supervise pour la France la protection de cette espèce encore très fragile est intarissable sur celui qu'on appelait jadis le phène des Alpes. .

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "phène"?
"phène" is spelled P-H-È-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is \fɛn\.
What does "phène" mean?
As a noun, "phène" means: apocope de phène des Alpes, un rapace dénommé aujourd’hui le gypaète barbu.
How do you pronounce "phène"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "phène" is \fɛn\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "phène" come from?
"phène" 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.

What to do next

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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