phoque

\fɔk\

/\fɔk\/ noun

The verdict

“phoque” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #20,815 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#20,815
frequency rank, French
6
letters
8
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Mammifère carnivore marin au corps fusiforme, aux membres antérieurs, très courts, transformés en palettes natatoires et aux membres postérieurs qui ne peuvent se replier sous le ventre, et dont il...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

phoque vs pique
67% similar
phoque vs proue
67% similar
phoque vs plaqué
50% similar

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

Key facts for phoque
PropertyValue
Headwordphoque
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\fɔk\
Letters6
Frequency rank#20,815
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “phoque” 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). phoque 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 phoque is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \fɔk\. Corpus data places it at rank #20,815 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Mammifère carnivore marin au corps fusiforme, aux membres antérieurs, très courts, transformés en palettes natatoires et aux membres postérieurs qui ne peuvent se replier sous le ventre, et dont il...".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for phoque, with forms such as "hpoque", "phhoque", and "phoqeu". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "pique", "proue", "plaqué", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is phoque, spelled P-H-O-Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mammifère carnivore marin au corps fusiforme, aux membres antérieurs, très courts, transformés en palettes natatoires et aux membres postérieurs qui ne peuvent se replier sous le ventre, et dont il existe plusieurs espèces, entre autres le phoque commun.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: hpoque,phhoque,phoqeu,phoqque,phouqe,phqoue,pohque,pphoque

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of phoque - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hpoque2phhoque1phoqeu2phoqque1phouqe2phqoue2pohque2pphoque1
Edit distance from "phoque"

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 "phoque"?
"phoque" is spelled P-H-O-Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is \fɔk\.
What does "phoque" mean?
As a noun, "phoque" means: Mammifère carnivore marin au corps fusiforme, aux membres antérieurs, très courts, transformés en palettes natatoires et aux membres postérieurs qui ne peuvent se replier sous le ventre, et dont il...
What words are commonly confused with "phoque"?
"phoque" is commonly confused with "pique", "proue", "plaqué". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "phoque"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "phoque" is \fɔk\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "phoque" come from?
"phoque" 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 “phoque”

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

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