tempête

\tɑ̃.pɛt\

/\tɑ̃.pɛt\/ noun

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

The verdict

“tempête” has 11 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #3,968. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,968
frequency rank, French
164,488
“T” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Tourmente atmosphérique, violente agitation de l’air, souvent accompagnée de pluie, de neige, de grêle, d’éclairs, de tonnerre, etc.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

tempête vs temple
71% similar
tempête vs trempée
57% similar
tempête vs tempêtes
88% similar

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

Key facts for tempête
PropertyValue
Headwordtempête
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\tɑ̃.pɛt\
Letters7
Frequency rank#3,968
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tempête” 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). tempête lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around tempête (IPA \tɑ̃.pɛt\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,968 among 164,488 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for tempête, with forms such as "etmpête", "temmpête", and "tempete". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "temple", "trempée", "tempêtes", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is tempête, spelled T-E-M-P-Ê-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Tourmente atmosphérique, violente agitation de l’air, souvent accompagnée de pluie, de neige, de grêle, d’éclairs, de tonnerre, etc.
  2. 2
    Tourmentes furieuses sur la mer, qui soulèvent les flots.
  3. 3
    Violente agitation, tourmente politique, mouvement dirigé contre quelqu’un pour le perdre, pour l’accabler.
  4. 4
    Violente et bruyante explosion.
  5. 5
    Période de chaos.

This word in other languages

storm(English)tormenta(Español)Sturm(Deutsch)tempestade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • etmpête
  • temmpête
  • tempete
  • temppête
  • temptêe
  • tempêet
  • tempêtte
  • temêpte
  • tepmête
  • tmepête
  • ttempête

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tempête - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

etmpête2temmpête1tempete1temppête1temptêe2tempêet2tempêtte1temêpte2
Edit distance from "tempête"

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 "tempête"?
"tempête" is spelled T-E-M-P-Ê-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is \tɑ̃.pɛt\.
What does "tempête" mean?
As a noun, "tempête" means: Tourmente atmosphérique, violente agitation de l’air, souvent accompagnée de pluie, de neige, de grêle, d’éclairs, de tonnerre, etc.
What words are commonly confused with "tempête"?
"tempête" is commonly confused with "temple", "trempée", "tempêtes". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tempête"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tempête" is \tɑ̃.pɛt\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tempête" come from?
"tempête" 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 “tempête”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is T-E-M-P-Ê-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \tɑ̃.pɛt\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “temple” - see the side-by-side comparison. tempête vs temple
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Same frequency band

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