être

[ɛtʁ]

/[ɛtʁ]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“être” is uncommon Spanish (frequency #87,413), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#87,413
frequency rank, Spanish
4
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Ser.

Key facts for être
PropertyValue
Headwordêtre
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ɛtʁ]
Letters4
Frequency rank#87,413
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “être” sits in Spanish 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). être lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

être is uncommon Spanish at frequency #87,413, classed as anoun, transcribed [ɛtʁ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Ser.".

Zero misspellings are on record for être in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable Spanish patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct Spanish form is être, spelled Ê-T-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ser.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "être"?
"être" is spelled Ê-T-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ɛtʁ].
What does "être" mean?
As a noun, "être" means: Ser.
How do you pronounce "être"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "être" is [ɛtʁ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "être" come from?
"être" is a Spanish 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 “être”

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

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is Ê-T-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ɛtʁ] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words

Other uncommon Spanish words near this rank

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