quatre-chemins

\katʁ.ʃə.mɛ̃\

/\katʁ.ʃə.mɛ̃\/ noun

The verdict

“quatre-chemins” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Carrefour, endroits où se croisent plusieurs rues.

Key facts for quatre-chemins
PropertyValue
Headwordquatre-chemins
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\katʁ.ʃə.mɛ̃\
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “quatre-chemins” sits in French frequency

quatre-chemins 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.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for quatre-chemins is 14 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \katʁ.ʃə.mɛ̃\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Carrefour, endroits où se croisent plusieurs rues.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for quatre-chemins, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is quatre-chemins, spelled Q-U-A-T-R-E---C-H-E-M-I-N-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Carrefour, endroits où se croisent plusieurs rues.

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

How do you spell "quatre-chemins"?
"quatre-chemins" is spelled Q-U-A-T-R-E---C-H-E-M-I-N-S. The IPA pronunciation is \katʁ.ʃə.mɛ̃\.
What does "quatre-chemins" mean?
As a noun, "quatre-chemins" means: Carrefour, endroits où se croisent plusieurs rues.
How do you pronounce "quatre-chemins"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "quatre-chemins" is \katʁ.ʃə.mɛ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "quatre-chemins" come from?
"quatre-chemins" 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.

Using “quatre-chemins”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is Q-U-A-T-R-E---C-H-E-M-I-N-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \katʁ.ʃə.mɛ̃\ (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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list