travailler

\tʁa.va.je\

/\tʁa.va.je\/ verb

The verdict

“travailler” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #780 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#780
frequency rank, French
10
letters
13
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Tourmenter ; soumettre à une gêne ; causer de la peine ; torturer psychologiquement.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

travailler vs travaillez
90% similar
travailler vs travaillés
80% similar
travailler vs travailleur
91% similar

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

Key facts for travailler
PropertyValue
Headwordtravailler
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\tʁa.va.je\
Letters10
Frequency rank#780
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “travailler” 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). travailler 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 travailler is 10 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \tʁa.va.je\. Corpus data places it at rank #780 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 14 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for travailler, with forms such as "rtavailler", "tarvailler", and "traaviller". 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 10 confusable-pair relationships, "travaillez", "travaillés", "travailleur", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is travailler, spelled T-R-A-V-A-I-L-L-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Tourmenter ; soumettre à une gêne ; causer de la peine ; torturer psychologiquement.
  2. 2
    Agiter, exciter au mécontentement, à la révolte.
  3. 3
    Contraindre à certains exercices.
  4. 4
    Soumettre une matière à un travail, la façonner.
  5. 5
    Soigner, exécuter avec soin.
  6. 6
    Étudier.
  7. 7
    Se donner de la peine ou faire un effort soutenu pour exécuter quelque chose ; faire un travail, un ouvrage.
  8. 8
    Apprendre, fournir un effort pour l’école.
  9. 9
    Avoir de l’occupation, de l’ouvrage, en parlant de ceux qui exercent quelque profession ; et par extension, en parlant de l'établissement dans lequel se déroule cette activité.
  10. 10
    Être en mouvement et produire un effet utile.
  11. 11
    Fructifier, produire intérêt, en parlant des richesses.
  12. 12
    Fermenter, en parlant du vin, de la bière, du cidre, etc.
  13. 13
    Être dans une sorte d’agitation causée par quelque projet, par quelque ouvrage, en parlant de la pensée.
  14. 14
    Subir un effort, se déformer sous l’action de l’humidité, de la chaleur, etc., en parlant des matériaux de construction.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: rtavailler,tarvailler,traaviller,travailelr,travailer,travaillerr,travaillre,travaliler,travialler,travvailler,trravailler,trvaailler,ttravailler

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

rtavailler2tarvailler2traaviller2travailelr2travailer1travaillerr1travaillre2travaliler2
Edit distance from "travailler"

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 "travailler"?
"travailler" is spelled T-R-A-V-A-I-L-L-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \tʁa.va.je\.
What does "travailler" mean?
As a verb, "travailler" means: Tourmenter ; soumettre à une gêne ; causer de la peine ; torturer psychologiquement.
What words are commonly confused with "travailler"?
"travailler" is commonly confused with "travaillez", "travaillés", "travailleur". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "travailler"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "travailler" is \tʁa.va.je\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "travailler" come from?
"travailler" 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 “travailler”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is T-R-A-V-A-I-L-L-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \tʁa.va.je\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “travaillez” - see the side-by-side comparison. travailler vs travaillez
  • 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