presque

\pʁɛsk\

/\pʁɛsk\/ adv

The verdict

“presque” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #484 in French word frequency and used as an adverb.

#484
frequency rank, French
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - À peu près, peu s’en faut.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

presque vs prévue
57% similar
presque vs pressé
57% similar
presque vs puisque
71% similar

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

Key facts for presque
PropertyValue
Headwordpresque
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\pʁɛsk\
Letters7
Frequency rank#484
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “presque” 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). presque 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 presque is 7 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pʁɛsk\. Corpus data places it at rank #484 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for presque, with forms such as "persque", "ppresque", and "preqsue". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "prévue", "pressé", "puisque", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is presque, spelled P-R-E-S-Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    À peu près, peu s’en faut.
  2. 2
    Excepté un ensemble négligeable.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: persque,ppresque,preqsue,presqeu,presqque,pressque,presuqe,prresque,prseque,rpesque

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

persque2ppresque1preqsue2presqeu2presqque1pressque1presuqe2prresque1
Edit distance from "presque"

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 "presque"?
"presque" is spelled P-R-E-S-Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is \pʁɛsk\.
What does "presque" mean?
As an adverb, "presque" means: À peu près, peu s’en faut.
What words are commonly confused with "presque"?
"presque" is commonly confused with "prévue", "pressé", "puisque". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "presque"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "presque" is \pʁɛsk\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "presque" come from?
"presque" 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 “presque”

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

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