semaine

\sə.mɛn\

/\sə.mɛn\/ noun

The verdict

“semaine” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #321 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#321
frequency rank, French
7
letters
9
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Séquence constituée des sept jours : lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, samedi et dimanche. Chaque date a un seul jour de la semaine dans cet ordre, mais le commencement de la semaine dépend ...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

semaine vs semant
71% similar
semaine vs sereine
71% similar
semaine vs Seraing
57% similar

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

Key facts for semaine
PropertyValue
Headwordsemaine
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\sə.mɛn\
Letters7
Frequency rank#321
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “semaine” 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). semaine 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 semaine is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \sə.mɛn\. Corpus data places it at rank #321 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for semaine, with forms such as "esmaine", "seamine", and "semaien". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "semant", "sereine", "Seraing", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is semaine, spelled S-E-M-A-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Séquence constituée des sept jours : lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, samedi et dimanche. Chaque date a un seul jour de la semaine dans cet ordre, mais le commencement de la semaine dépend de la tradition locale.
  2. 2
    Une tranche de sept jours à partir de la date courante (semaine flottante).
  3. 3
    Période de cinq jours travaillés (du lundi au vendredi) au sein des sept jours de la semaine, par opposition à la fin de semaine (ou week-end).
  4. 4
    Temps légal de travail pendant une semaine.
  5. 5
    Salaire obtenu au bout d’une semaine de travail.
  6. 6
    Durée d’une campagne publicitaire.
  7. 7
    Ensemble de sept objets de même nature.
  8. 8
    Période de menstruation, règles.
  9. 9
    Espèce de conciergerie assurée par une permanence à tour de rôle des sous-officiers et des hommes de troupe et qui dure une semaine.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: esmaine,seamine,semaien,semainne,semanie,semiane,semmaine,smeaine,ssemaine

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of semaine - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

esmaine2seamine2semaien2semainne1semanie2semiane2semmaine1smeaine2
Edit distance from "semaine"

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 "semaine"?
"semaine" is spelled S-E-M-A-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is \sə.mɛn\.
What does "semaine" mean?
As a noun, "semaine" means: Séquence constituée des sept jours : lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi, samedi et dimanche. Chaque date a un seul jour de la semaine dans cet ordre, mais le commencement de la semaine dépend ...
What words are commonly confused with "semaine"?
"semaine" is commonly confused with "semant", "sereine", "Seraing". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "semaine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "semaine" is \sə.mɛn\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "semaine" come from?
"semaine" 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 “semaine”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is S-E-M-A-I-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \sə.mɛn\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “semant” - see the side-by-side comparison. semaine vs semant
  • 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