tête-de-chat
\tɛt.də.ʃa\
The verdict
“tête-de-chat” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Concrétion calcaire commune dans l'Yprésien.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tête-de-chat |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \tɛt.də.ʃa\ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tête-de-chat” sits in French frequency
Rare enough to double-check
tête-de-chat is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \tɛt.də.ʃa\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for tête-de-chat, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, 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 tête-de-chat, spelled T-Ê-T-E---D-E---C-H-A-T.
Definition
- 1Concrétion calcaire commune dans l'Yprésien.
- 2La première flèche du jeu de jacquet.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “tête-de-chat”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is T-Ê-T-E---D-E---C-H-A-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \tɛt.də.ʃa\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.