pointe

\pwɛ̃t\

/\pwɛ̃t\/ noun

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

The verdict

“pointe” has 8 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #1,883. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,883
frequency rank, French
6,826
“P” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Extrémité piquante et aigüe de quelque chose que ce soit.

Corpus desk

Index FR-pointe · pointe · French

pointe · rank #1,883 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,883
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,826
  • PHOTO-FINISH phrase

Nearest frequency peer: phrase (-1 rank slots)

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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “pointe”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “pointe” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

pointe vs pont
67% similar
pointe vs pote
67% similar
pointe vs porte
67% similar

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

Key facts for pointe
PropertyValue
Headwordpointe
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pwɛ̃t\
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,883
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Où “pointe” se place dans la fréquence du français

La fréquence va de la poignée de mots du quotidien (gauche) à la longue queue presque jamais vue (droite).pointese place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « phrase » (#1,882), « permettent » (#1,881), « principale » (#1,885). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around pointe (IPA \pwɛ̃t\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,883 among 6,826 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 26 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for pointe, with forms such as "opinte", "pionte", and "poinet". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pont", "pote", "porte", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is pointe, spelled P-O-I-N-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Extrémité piquante et aigüe de quelque chose que ce soit.
  2. 2
    Instrument de fer ou d’acier qui servent à différents usages.
  3. 3
    Manière d’opérer avec la pointe.
  4. 4
    Petit clou long et mince, sans tête ou à tête très petite.
  5. 5
    Bout, extrémité des choses qui vont diminuant.
  6. 6
    La pointe des pieds.
  7. 7
    Pointe de danse, chausson renforcé à l’extrémité, pour danser en pointe.
  8. 8
    Espace de terre qui s’avance dans la mer.
  9. 9
    Partie d'un territoire qui s'enfonce dans celui d'un pays voisin.
  10. 10
    Extrémité de l’aile d’un bataillon.
  11. 11
    Une des parties qui forment le bas de l’arçon d’une selle.
  12. 12
    L’angle d'un bastion, le plus avancé du côté de la campagne.
  13. 13
    Dépassement de courte durée ajoutée à un changement de voltage à sens unique.
  14. 14
    Extrémité mobile d’une aiguille ferroviaire.
  15. 15
    Partie basse de l’écu.
  16. 16
    Nom donné à une pièce triangulaire dont le sommet touche le centre du chef de l’écu et la base occupe un quart de la largeur de l’écu et est centré sur la pointe (sens précédent).
  17. 17
    Emplacement d’élément(s) dans l’écu, voir en pointe.
  18. 18
    Morceau d’étoffe ou de linge, taillé en pointe, que l’on coud sur les côtés d’une jupe ou d’une chemise de femme, entre le devant et le derrière, pour donner plus de tour, plus d’ampleur au vêtement.
  19. 19
    Petite quantité d’un assaisonnement piquant et agréable.
  20. 20
    Un peu d'un sentiment.
  21. 21
    Trait d’esprit recherché, subtil, piquant.
  22. 22
    Vol d’un oiseau de proie qui s’élève vers le ciel.
  23. 23
    Fichu en forme de pointe.
  24. 24
    Lacet d’un vêtement.
  25. 25
    Personne douée dans un ou plusieurs domaines intellectuels.
  26. 26
    Accessoire surmontant un casque militaire prussien.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Je m’engageai dans la passe […]. Je devais agir avec prudence, car les pointes traîtresses du corail me guettaient sous la mer.
  2. En diminuant le diamètre de la virole, on pouvait en faire des pointes de flèche ; en barbelant la pointe, on avait une arme de jet, un javelot.

Synonyms

cloucap

This word in other languages

point(English)punta(Español)Spitze(Deutsch)pitada(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • opinte
  • pionte
  • poinet
  • poinnte
  • pointte
  • poitne
  • ponite
  • ppointe

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

opinte2pionte2poinet2poinnte1pointte1poitne2ponite2ppointe1
Edit distance from "pointe"

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 "pointe"?
"pointe" is spelled P-O-I-N-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is \pwɛ̃t\.
What does "pointe" mean?
As a noun, "pointe" means: Extrémité piquante et aigüe de quelque chose que ce soit.
What words are commonly confused with "pointe"?
"pointe" is commonly confused with "pont", "pote", "porte". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pointe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pointe" is \pwɛ̃t\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pointe" come from?
"pointe" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pointe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

phrase#1,882sommet#1,890acteur#1,896ajoute#1,897

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

jésus8 variantsfoutre8 variantsferait8 variantsblague8 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "pointe". Here's where to go from here.

  • "pointe" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "pont". View pair
  • 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #1,883 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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