quelques

\kɛlk\

/\kɛlk\/ adj

The verdict

“quelques” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #142 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#142
frequency rank, French
8
letters
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Pluriel de l’adjectif indéfini quelque. Un petit nombre de. — Note d’usage : Ce mot peut s’utiliser comme un numéral après un cardinal et et.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

quelques vs queues
75% similar
quelques vs quelque
88% similar
quelques vs quelles
75% similar

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

Key facts for quelques
PropertyValue
Headwordquelques
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\kɛlk\
Letters8
Frequency rank#142
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “quelques” 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). quelques 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 quelques is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \kɛlk\. Corpus data places it at rank #142 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Pluriel de l’adjectif indéfini quelque. Un petit nombre de. — Note d’usage : Ce mot peut s’utiliser comme un numéral après un cardinal et et.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for quelques, with forms such as "qeulques", "qquelques", and "quellques". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "queues", "quelque", "quelles", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is quelques, spelled Q-U-E-L-Q-U-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Pluriel de l’adjectif indéfini quelque. Un petit nombre de. — Note d’usage : Ce mot peut s’utiliser comme un numéral après un cardinal et et.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: qeulques,qquelques,quellques,quelqeus,quelqques,quelquess,quelquse,queluqes,queqlues,quleques,uqelques

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

qeulques2qquelques1quellques1quelqeus2quelqques1quelquess1quelquse2queluqes2
Edit distance from "quelques"

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 "quelques"?
"quelques" is spelled Q-U-E-L-Q-U-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is \kɛlk\.
What does "quelques" mean?
As an adjective, "quelques" means: Pluriel de l’adjectif indéfini quelque. Un petit nombre de. — Note d’usage : Ce mot peut s’utiliser comme un numéral après un cardinal et et.
What words are commonly confused with "quelques"?
"quelques" is commonly confused with "queues", "quelque", "quelles". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "quelques"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "quelques" is \kɛlk\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "quelques" come from?
"quelques" 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 “quelques”

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

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