quand même

\kɑ̃ mɛm\

/\kɑ̃ mɛm\/ adv

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

The verdict

“quand même” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sens adversatif : pour insister sur un aspect des choses qui paraît en contradiction avec un autre aspect.

Corpus desk

Index FR-quand-meme · quand même · French

quand même · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "Q" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for quand même
PropertyValue
Headwordquand même
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\kɑ̃ mɛm\
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “quand même” sits in French frequency

quand même falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

quand même is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \kɑ̃ mɛm\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

quand même has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

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 quand même, spelled Q-U-A-N-D- -M-Ê-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sens adversatif : pour insister sur un aspect des choses qui paraît en contradiction avec un autre aspect.
  2. 2
    Pour marquer diverses modalités affectives (impatience, étonnement, irritation, insistance, ironie, etc.).
  3. 3
    Pourtant, même si.
  4. 4
    Un peu, plutôt.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Comme il est ministériel quand même, et que vous nous avez mis en garde contre lui, il serait utile que son engagement reçût de la publicité.
  2. Cet espoir est toujours là quand même et malgré tout !

Synonyms

malgré toutnéanmoinsnonobstanttout de mêmepas trop tôt

This word in other languages

anyway(English)sin embargo(Español)selbst(Deutsch)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "quand même"?
"quand même" is spelled Q-U-A-N-D- -M-Ê-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is \kɑ̃ mɛm\.
What does "quand même" mean?
As an adverb, "quand même" means: Sens adversatif : pour insister sur un aspect des choses qui paraît en contradiction avec un autre aspect.
How do you pronounce "quand même"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "quand même" is \kɑ̃ mɛm\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "quand même" come from?
"quand même" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

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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