• 130 words
  • Checked October 2026

Spelling Words With a French Origin

Forty French words, then Latin, Greek, German, Spanish, Italian and Japanese: press Start test and type what you hear.

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List 1: French, a silent last letter

Words to learn. Read each word, cover it, write it, then check it.

  1. 1.beretThe painter wore a black beret.
  2. 2.sachetA lavender sachet scented the drawer.
  3. 3.valetA valet took our keys at the door.
  4. 4.cabaretThe singer performed at a small cabaret.
  5. 5.chaletWe rented a chalet near the ski lift.
  6. 6.parfaitShe ordered a yogurt parfait.
  7. 7.balletOur class saw a ballet downtown.
  8. 8.bouquetThe bouquet on the table has six tulips.
  9. 9.gourmetThe shop sells gourmet cheese.
  10. 10.ragoutThe ragout simmered for three hours.

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Next step More French spellings in the 9th grade listsMore borrowed words: the hardest words to spell

All 130 words

List 1: French, a silent last letter 10

  • ballet Our class saw a ballet downtown.
  • beret The painter wore a black beret.
  • bouquet The bouquet on the table has six tulips.
  • cabaret The singer performed at a small cabaret.
  • chalet We rented a chalet near the ski lift.
  • gourmet The shop sells gourmet cheese.
  • parfait She ordered a yogurt parfait.
  • ragout The ragout simmered for three hours.
  • sachet A lavender sachet scented the drawer.
  • valet A valet took our keys at the door.

List 2: French, que and ette 10

  • antique She collects antique maps.
  • baroque The palace has a baroque ceiling.
  • barrette A barrette held her hair back.
  • boutique She opened a hat boutique.
  • cassette Dad still has a cassette of that album.
  • clique The lunch table clique welcomed a new member.
  • croquette I tried a potato croquette.
  • plaque A brass plaque marks the spot.
  • rosette She pinned a silk rosette to her hat.
  • statuette The winner received a gold statuette.

List 3: French, age and ge 10

  • barrage A barrage of hail hit the windshield.
  • camouflage A fawn's spots are its camouflage.
  • concierge Ask the concierge for a city map.
  • dressage The rider won a ribbon in dressage.
  • fuselage Passengers sit in the fuselage of the plane.
  • garage The garage door sticks in cold weather.
  • mirage Heat made a mirage shimmer on the road.
  • montage The yearbook ends with a photo montage.
  • rouge She dabbed rouge on the doll's cheeks.
  • triage Nurses use triage to decide who is seen first.

List 4: French, eau, ou and ch 10

  • brioche She shaped the brioche dough into knots.
  • chassis The go-kart has a steel chassis.
  • contour The map shows each contour of the hill.
  • detour Road work forced a long detour.
  • echelon He rose to the top echelon of the company.
  • gauche It felt gauche to ask the price.
  • mousse Dessert was chocolate mousse.
  • niche The statue stands in a niche.
  • panache The chef flipped the crepe with panache.
  • portmanteau Smog is a portmanteau of smoke and fog.

List 5: Latin, um and us 10

  • album The photo album sits on the shelf.
  • apparatus The gym bought new climbing apparatus.
  • consensus After an hour the jury found consensus.
  • forum Students asked questions at the open forum.
  • hiatus The show returns after a short hiatus.
  • medium Clay is her favorite medium.
  • premium The premium seats are near the stage.
  • status Check the status of your order.
  • stimulus Light is a stimulus that plants respond to.
  • terminus The train reached its terminus at noon.

List 6: Latin, a, i, x and or 10

  • alibi The suspect had a solid alibi.
  • alumni The alumni returned for homecoming.
  • apex We reached the apex of the hill.
  • appendix An appendix at the back lists every source.
  • data We entered the data into a table.
  • exterior The exterior of the house needs paint.
  • interior The interior of the cave was cool.
  • media The media covered the science fair.
  • vertebra Each vertebra protects the spinal cord.
  • vortex Water formed a vortex over the drain.

List 7: Greek, ph and ch 10

  • alphabet The Greek alphabet begins with alpha.
  • amphora The divers found an ancient amphora.
  • chaos The kitchen was chaos before the party.
  • chronic Traffic is a chronic problem downtown.
  • echo We shouted and heard an echo.
  • phantasm The shape in the fog was only a phantasm.
  • pharynx The diagram labels the pharynx in blue.
  • phrase Underline the phrase that repeats.
  • psyche Dreams may reveal something of the psyche.
  • sphinx A stone sphinx guards the museum steps.

List 8: Greek, y as a vowel 10

  • eponym Sandwich is an eponym.
  • gymnast The gymnast stuck her landing.
  • hysteria The rumor caused hysteria in the hallway.
  • lyre The statue holds a small lyre.
  • onyx The ring holds a black onyx.
  • pylon Each pylon carries power lines.
  • pyre The play ends with a funeral pyre.
  • python The python coiled around a branch.
  • synonym Big is a synonym for large.
  • tyrant The tyrant ruled by fear.

List 9: Greek, a, is and os endings 10

  • amnesia The character in the film has amnesia.
  • basis Trust is the basis of teamwork.
  • crisis The team handled the crisis calmly.
  • diploma She framed her diploma.
  • dogma The scientist questioned the old dogma.
  • drama The drama unfolded in the last inning.
  • genesis The sketch was the genesis of the mural.
  • kudos She earned kudos for the rescue.
  • miasma A miasma of smoke hung over the grill.
  • plasma The sun is a ball of hot plasma.

List 10: German 10

  • angst The poem is full of teenage angst.
  • delicatessen The delicatessen slices meat to order.
  • gesundheit He said gesundheit when I sneezed.
  • hinterland Roads into the hinterland are unpaved.
  • kindergarten The kindergarten room has tiny chairs.
  • kitsch The shop sells souvenir kitsch.
  • pretzel He bought a soft pretzel at the game.
  • strudel The bakery sells apple strudel.
  • wunderkind The wunderkind entered college at fourteen.
  • yodel We heard a yodel echo off the cliffs.

List 11: Spanish 10

  • armada An armada of kayaks crossed the bay.
  • bronco The bronco kicked and bucked.
  • burro A burro carried the packs uphill.
  • corral The horses waited in the corral.
  • coyote A coyote howled at dusk.
  • lasso The rider twirled a lasso.
  • plaza A fountain stands in the plaza.
  • poncho I wore a rain poncho to the game.
  • pueblo The pueblo has thick adobe walls.
  • siesta Grandpa takes a siesta after lunch.

List 12: Italian 10

  • balcony Ferns hang from the balcony railing.
  • bravo Someone in the balcony yelled bravo.
  • cameo The author makes a cameo in the film.
  • fresco A fresco covers the ceiling of the hall.
  • gelato We shared a cup of lemon gelato.
  • grotto The boat drifted into a sea grotto.
  • manifesto The club printed a manifesto of its goals.
  • motto The school motto is carved over the door.
  • pesto She tossed the pasta with pesto.
  • stucco The house has white stucco walls.

List 13: Japanese 10

  • emoji She ended the text with a smiling emoji.
  • futon Guests sleep on the futon.
  • haiku A haiku has three short lines.
  • honcho Ask the head honcho for the key.
  • karate Her karate class bows before each lesson.
  • kimono She wore a silk kimono to the festival.
  • samurai The museum displays a suit of samurai armor.
  • sudoku I finish a sudoku on the bus.
  • tsunami The earthquake triggered a tsunami warning.
  • wasabi The green paste beside the sushi is wasabi.

How it works

English took these 130 words from seven languages, and each keeps a trace of its old spelling. Lists 1 to 4 are French, sorted by the letters that give them away: a silent last letter, que and ette, age, and eau, ou and ch.

Read the full guide

Spelling word lists by origin

French comes first: beret and ballet end in a silent t, plaque and clique in que, mirage and dressage in age. Lists 5 and 6 are Latin words that kept their Latin endings (stimulus, vertebra, alumni). Lists 7 to 9 are Greek, with ph, ch and y (sphinx, psyche, lyre). Then one list each of German (strudel, wunderkind), Spanish (siesta, pueblo), Italian (fresco, gelato) and Japanese (haiku, kimono).

Where each origin comes from

Each word's etymology was read in Wiktionary. Most of the Greek words reached English by way of Latin or French, and a few (pylon, kudos, chaos) straight from Greek. The words of the other lists came from the language named.

  • Latin spelling words keep Latin plurals: alumni is the plural of alumnus, data of datum, media of medium.
  • Gesundheit is German for health; say ge-sund-heit and each part spells itself.

Questions and answers

Why is spelling Greek words so hard?

Greek sounds are written with pairs English rarely uses: ph for f (phrase, amphora), ch for k (chronic, echo), ps with a silent p (psyche) and y as a vowel (lyre, onyx, pyre). Lists 7 to 9 drill them.

How can I tell a word is from French?

Look at the end. A silent final t (sachet, parfait), que for k (baroque, plaque), ette (cassette, rosette) and age said ahzh (montage, triage) all point to French, as does ch said sh in panache and brioche.

Which Japanese words are on the list?

Ten: karate, tsunami, haiku, kimono, futon, emoji, samurai, honcho, sudoku and wasabi. Honcho began as the Japanese word for a squad leader.

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