aigre

\ɛɡʁ\

/\ɛɡʁ\/ adj

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

The verdict

“aigre” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #31,810 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#31,810
frequency rank, French
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui a une saveur acide et amère provoquant un sentiment désagréable.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

aigre vs air
60% similar
aigre vs are
60% similar
aigre vs aimé
40% similar

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

Key facts for aigre
PropertyValue
Headwordaigre
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ɛɡʁ\
Letters5
Frequency rank#31,810
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “aigre” 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). aigre 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 aigre is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɛɡʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #31,810 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for aigre, with forms such as "agire", "aiger", and "aiggre". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "air", "are", "aimé", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is aigre, spelled A-I-G-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui a une saveur acide et amère provoquant un sentiment désagréable.
  2. 2
    Se dit d’un propos désagréable, acerbe.
  3. 3
    Se dit également d’un caractère ou de la personne elle-même.
  4. 4
    Se dit aussi, d’autres sensations désagréables, perçantes.
  5. 5
    Désigne des couleurs qui ne sont pas liées par des passages qui les accordent.
  6. 6
    Métaux qui ne sont pas ductiles et malléables, qui se désagrègent lorsqu’on les déforme.
  7. 7
    Désigne des planches dures et qui se laissent difficilement tailler par les outils ; de même, les outils sont aigres quand ils sont trempés trop dur.

Synonyms

acerbeacideâcreamerpiquantsursuretacerbeacideâcreamerpiquant

Antonyms

douxsucré

This word in other languages

sour(English)agrio(Español)herb(Deutsch)acre(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: agire,aiger,aiggre,aigrre,airge,iagre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of aigre - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

agire2aiger2aiggre1aigrre1airge2iagre2
Edit distance from "aigre"

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 "aigre"?
"aigre" is spelled A-I-G-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ɛɡʁ\.
What does "aigre" mean?
As an adjective, "aigre" means: Qui a une saveur acide et amère provoquant un sentiment désagréable.
What words are commonly confused with "aigre"?
"aigre" is commonly confused with "air", "are", "aimé". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "aigre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "aigre" is \ɛɡʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "aigre" come from?
"aigre" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “aigre”

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

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