genre

/ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/

//ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə// noun

"genre" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“genre” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,418. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,418
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A kind; a stylistic category or sort, especially of literature or other artworks.

Corpus desk

Index EN-genre · genre · English

genre · rank #5,418 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,418
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH fires

Nearest frequency peer: fires (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “genre”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “genre” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

genre vs ger
60% similar
genre vs GRE
0% similar
genre vs gone
60% similar

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

Key facts for genre
PropertyValue
Headwordgenre
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#5,418
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “genre” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).genrelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “fires” (#5,417), “gentle” (#5,419), “fears” (#5,416). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around genre (IPA /ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,418 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A kind; a stylistic category or sort, especially of literature or other artworks.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for genre, with forms such as "egnre", "gener", and "gennre". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ger", "GRE", "gone", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from French genre, from Old French gen(d)re, borrowed from Latin genere. Doublet of gender and genus. The correct English form is genre, spelled G-E-N-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A kind; a stylistic category or sort, especially of literature or other artworks.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how genre appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The still life has been a popular genre in painting since the 17th century.
  2. This film is a cross-genre piece, dark and funny at the same time.

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French genre, from Old French gen(d)re, borrowed from Latin genere. Doublet of gender and genus.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • egnre
  • gener
  • gennre
  • genrre
  • gerne
  • ggenre
  • gnere

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

egnre2gener2gennre1genrre1gerne2ggenre1gnere2
Edit distance from "genre"

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "genre"?
"genre" is spelled G-E-N-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/.
What does "genre" mean?
As a noun, "genre" means: A kind; a stylistic category or sort, especially of literature or other artworks.
What words are commonly confused with "genre"?
"genre" is commonly confused with "ger", "GRE", "gone". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "genre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "genre" is /ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "genre"?
Unadapted borrowing from French genre, from Old French gen(d)re, borrowed from Latin genere. Doublet of gender and genus. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "genre", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

What to do next

You've looked up "genre". Here's where to go from here.

  • "genre" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "ger". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #5,418 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "G" letter cohort. G–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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