problème
\pʁɔ.blɛm\
The verdict
“problème” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #329 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #329
- frequency rank, French
- 8
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Question scientifique à résoudre.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | problème |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \pʁɔ.blɛm\ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #329 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “problème” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for problème is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pʁɔ.blɛm\. Corpus data places it at rank #329 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for problème, with forms such as "porblème", "pproblème", and "prbolème". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "proclamé", "problems", "problèmes", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is problème, spelled P-R-O-B-L-È-M-E.
Definition
- 1Question scientifique à résoudre.
- 2Question difficile à résoudre.
- 3Difficulté, ennui, souci.
- 4Tout ce qui est difficile à concevoir, comme définir un caractère ou expliquer une conduite.
- 5Affaire embrouillée.
- 6Jeu ou énigme publié dans la presse, grille de mots croisés, de mots fléchés, de sudoku, exercice d’échecs, de dames, de bridge.
- 7Composition artistique dans le domaine des échecs ou des dames.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: porblème,pproblème,prbolème,probblème,probleme,probllème,problmèe,problèem,problèmme,probèlme,prolbème,prroblème,rpoblème
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of problème - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "problème"?
What does "problème" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "problème"?
How do you pronounce "problème"?
What language does "problème" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “problème”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is P-R-O-B-L-È-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \pʁɔ.blɛm\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “proclamé” - see the side-by-side comparison. problème vs proclamé
- 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.