tétanos

\te.ta.nɔs\

/\te.ta.nɔs\/ noun

The verdict

“tétanos” has 11 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #38,086. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,086
frequency rank, French
164,488
“T” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Maladie toxi-infectieuse, tellurique, de l’homme et des animaux, généralement mortelle, caractérisée par la contraction convulsive, la rigidité d’un plus ou moins grand nombre de muscles (tétanisat...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

tétanos vs titans
71% similar
tétanos vs tétons
71% similar
tétanos vs texans
57% similar

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

Key facts for tétanos
PropertyValue
Headwordtétanos
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\te.ta.nɔs\
Letters7
Frequency rank#38,086
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tétanos” 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). tétanos 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 tétanos (IPA \te.ta.nɔs\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #38,086 among 164,488 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for tétanos, with forms such as "tetanos", "ttéanos", and "ttétanos". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "titans", "tétons", "texans", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, 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 tétanos, spelled T-É-T-A-N-O-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Maladie toxi-infectieuse, tellurique, de l’homme et des animaux, généralement mortelle, caractérisée par la contraction convulsive, la rigidité d’un plus ou moins grand nombre de muscles (tétanisation) puis par l’opisthotonos, due à la toxine du bacille du tétanos lorsque ses spores pénètrent dans une blessure.
  2. 2
    Rigidité du corps causée par une réaction émotive.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: tetanos,ttéanos,ttétanos,téatnos,tétannos,tétanoss,tétanso,tétaons,tétnaos,téttanos,éttanos

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

tetanos1ttéanos2ttétanos1téatnos2tétannos1tétanoss1tétanso2tétaons2
Edit distance from "tétanos"

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 "tétanos"?
"tétanos" is spelled T-É-T-A-N-O-S. The IPA pronunciation is \te.ta.nɔs\.
What does "tétanos" mean?
As a noun, "tétanos" means: Maladie toxi-infectieuse, tellurique, de l’homme et des animaux, généralement mortelle, caractérisée par la contraction convulsive, la rigidité d’un plus ou moins grand nombre de muscles (tétanisat...
What words are commonly confused with "tétanos"?
"tétanos" is commonly confused with "titans", "tétons", "texans". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tétanos"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tétanos" is \te.ta.nɔs\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tétanos" come from?
"tétanos" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “tétanos”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is T-É-T-A-N-O-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \te.ta.nɔs\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “titans” - see the side-by-side comparison. tétanos vs titans
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list