berce

\bɛʁs\

/\bɛʁs\/ noun

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

The verdict

“berce” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #39,177 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#39,177
frequency rank, French
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Plante de la famille des Apiacées, croissant et se développant dans les terrains humides de toute l'Europe.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

berce vs bre
60% similar
berce vs brie
60% similar
berce vs Bert
40% similar

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

Key facts for berce
PropertyValue
Headwordberce
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\bɛʁs\
Letters5
Frequency rank#39,177
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “berce” 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). berce 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 berce is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \bɛʁs\. Corpus data places it at rank #39,177 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for berce, with forms such as "bberce", "becre", and "bercce". 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, "bre", "brie", "Bert", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is berce, spelled B-E-R-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Plante de la famille des Apiacées, croissant et se développant dans les terrains humides de toute l'Europe.
  2. 2
    Plante de la famille des Apiacées, croissant et se développant dans les terrains humides de toute l'Europe.
  3. 3
    Plante de la famille des Apiacées, croissant et se développant dans les terrains humides de toute l'Europe.
  4. 4
    Plante de la famille des Apiacées, croissant et se développant dans les terrains humides de toute l'Europe.
  5. 5
    Essence de berce brancursine et essence de fruit de berce géante.
  6. 6
    Bières ou liqueurs de berce, boissons très alcoolisées fabriquées en Lituanie, en Pologne et en Russie par la fermentation de graines et de feuilles de berce.

This word in other languages

hogweed(English)Bärenklau(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bberce,becre,bercce,berec,berrce,brece,ebrce

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of berce - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bberce1becre2bercce1berec2berrce1brece2ebrce2
Edit distance from "berce"

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 "berce"?
"berce" is spelled B-E-R-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is \bɛʁs\.
What does "berce" mean?
As a noun, "berce" means: Plante de la famille des Apiacées, croissant et se développant dans les terrains humides de toute l'Europe.
What words are commonly confused with "berce"?
"berce" is commonly confused with "bre", "brie", "Bert". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "berce"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "berce" is \bɛʁs\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "berce" come from?
"berce" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “berce”

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

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