que

\kə\

/\kə\/ conj

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

The verdict

“que” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #13 in French word frequency and used as a conjunction.

#13
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Complémenteur pour introduire une proposition subordonnée complétive.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

que vs qui
67% similar
que vs quoi
50% similar
que vs quel
75% similar

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

Key facts for que
PropertyValue
Headwordque
LanguageFrench
Part of speechConjunction
IPA\kə\
Letters3
Frequency rank#13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “que” 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). que 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 que is 3 letters long, classified as a conjunction, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \kə\. Corpus data places it at rank #13 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No generated misspelling entries exist for que in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable French rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "qui", "quoi", "quel", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is que, spelled Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Complémenteur pour introduire une proposition subordonnée complétive.
  2. 2
    Subordinatif de sens général permettant d’introduire et associer une clause conditionnelle, causale ou déclenchante (voire plusieurs) à celle affirmant la réalisation d’un ou plusieurs effets.
  3. 3
    Sert à introduire une subordonnée circonstancielle de temps après une principale négative.
  4. 4
    La proposition subordonnante qu’il introduit se conjugue alors au subjonctif, respectivement présent ou passé, alors que la proposition subordonnée causée ou déclenchée (employant un sujet distinct) se conjugue alors respectivement à l’indicatif (le plus souvent au futur simple ou antérieur) ou au conditionnel (présent ou passé).
  5. 5
    Si la proposition conditionnelle, causale introduite par que est employée comme subordonnée d’une clause principale impersonnelle ou directement comme sujet impersonnel de la proposition principale, elle se met au subjonctif (présent ou passé, selon qu’elle s’est effectivement réalisée ou non) ; la proposition principale se conjugue à l’indicatif ou au conditionnel.
  6. 6
    Remplace une autre conjonction pour éviter la répétition, lorsque plusieurs subordonnées introduites par la même conjonction sont coordonnées ou juxtaposées (cette substitution est facultative, bien que très fréquente). Note d’usage : Traditionnellement, quand que remplace si, le verbe peut être conjugué au subjonctif, au moins dans certains cas.
  7. 7
    Utilisé en conjonction avec un autre terme (souvent une préposition) pour former une conjonction de subordination.
  8. 8
    Efface une dislocation et réintègre un thème dans une phrase.

This word in other languages

that(English)que(Español)dass(Deutsch)que(Português)

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 "que"?
"que" is spelled Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is \kə\.
What does "que" mean?
As a conjunction, "que" means: Complémenteur pour introduire une proposition subordonnée complétive.
What words are commonly confused with "que"?
"que" is commonly confused with "qui", "quoi", "quel". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "que"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "que" is \kə\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "que" come from?
"que" 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 “que”

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

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