plus ou moins
\ply.z‿u mwɛ̃\
The verdict
“plus ou moins” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as an adverb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Environ, à peu près, grosso modo.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | plus ou moins |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | \ply.z‿u mwɛ̃\ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “plus ou moins” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for plus ou moins is 13 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ply.z‿u mwɛ̃\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
No generated misspelling entries exist for plus ou moins in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is plus ou moins, spelled P-L-U-S- -O-U- -M-O-I-N-S.
Definition
- 1Environ, à peu près, grosso modo.
- 2À différents degrés.
This word in other languages
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
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Using “plus ou moins”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is P-L-U-S- -O-U- -M-O-I-N-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \ply.z‿u mwɛ̃\ (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.