téléphone

\te.le.fɔn\

/\te.le.fɔn\/ noun

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

The verdict

“téléphone” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #835 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#835
frequency rank, French
9
letters
14
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Appareil utilisé par deux personnes ou plus, pour mener une conversation à distance, qu'il soit fixe (relié à un réseau câblé) ou mobile (communiquant via des ondes radio).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

téléphone vs téléthon
78% similar
téléphone vs téléphonie
90% similar
téléphone vs téléphoner
90% similar

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

Key facts for téléphone
PropertyValue
Headwordtéléphone
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\te.le.fɔn\
Letters9
Frequency rank#835
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “téléphone” 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). téléphone 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 téléphone is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \te.le.fɔn\. Corpus data places it at rank #835 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for téléphone, with forms such as "telephone", "tlééphone", and "ttéléphone". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "téléthon", "téléphonie", "téléphoner", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is téléphone, spelled T-É-L-É-P-H-O-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Appareil utilisé par deux personnes ou plus, pour mener une conversation à distance, qu'il soit fixe (relié à un réseau câblé) ou mobile (communiquant via des ondes radio).
  2. 2
    Service public qui assure les communications par téléphone.
  3. 3
    Bureau où l’on peut se servir du téléphone.
  4. 4
    Appel téléphonique.
  5. 5
    Toilettes.

Synonyms

appareilbigophonebinioubignoudinosaurophonetubeturelu

This word in other languages

telephone(English)teléfono(Español)Telefon(Deutsch)telefone(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: telephone,tlééphone,ttéléphone,télléphone,télpéhone,téléhpone,téléphhone,téléphnoe,téléphoen,téléphonne,télépohne,télépphone,téélphone,étléphone

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of téléphone - 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.

telephone2tlééphone2ttéléphone1télléphone1télpéhone2téléhpone2téléphhone1téléphnoe2
Edit distance from "téléphone"

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 "téléphone"?
"téléphone" is spelled T-É-L-É-P-H-O-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is \te.le.fɔn\.
What does "téléphone" mean?
As a noun, "téléphone" means: Appareil utilisé par deux personnes ou plus, pour mener une conversation à distance, qu'il soit fixe (relié à un réseau câblé) ou mobile (communiquant via des ondes radio).
What words are commonly confused with "téléphone"?
"téléphone" is commonly confused with "téléthon", "téléphonie", "téléphoner". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "téléphone"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "téléphone" is \te.le.fɔn\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "téléphone" come from?
"téléphone" 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 “téléphone”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is T-É-L-É-P-H-O-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \te.le.fɔn\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “téléthon” - see the side-by-side comparison. téléphone vs téléthon
  • 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