bouclier

\bu.kli.je\

/\bu.kli.je\/ noun

The verdict

“bouclier” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #8,207 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#8,207
frequency rank, French
8
letters
11
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Arme défensive portée par un combattant pour se protéger des traits ou des coups.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

bouclier vs bouvier
75% similar
bouclier vs boursier
75% similar
bouclier vs bourbier
75% similar

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

Key facts for bouclier
PropertyValue
Headwordbouclier
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\bu.kli.je\
Letters8
Frequency rank#8,207
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bouclier” 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). bouclier 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 bouclier is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \bu.kli.je\. Corpus data places it at rank #8,207 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for bouclier, with forms such as "bbouclier", "boculier", and "boucclier". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "bouvier", "boursier", "bourbier", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, 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 bouclier, spelled B-O-U-C-L-I-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Arme défensive portée par un combattant pour se protéger des traits ou des coups.
  2. 2
    Ce que l’on considère comme une sauvegarde, une protection, une défense.
  3. 3
    Système de protection mobile pour les opérations de construction en sous-sol d’une galerie ou d’un tunnel.
  4. 4
    Élytre de certains insectes, convexe et relevé sur les bords, dont la forme rappelle celle d’un bouclier
  5. 5
    Sorte de pare-chocs.
  6. 6
    Blindage entourant le cœur d'un réacteur nucléaire.
  7. 7
    Région stable du socle ancien, de type craton, composée de roches d'origine magmatique et métamorphique datant du Précambrien.
  8. 8
    Ensemble des plumes de l’aile d’un pigeon.
  9. 9
    Meuble représentant l’arme défensive du même nom dans les armoiries. Il ne doit pas être confondu avec l’écu qui est le périmètre souvent utilisé pour représenter des armoiries. Il est parfois confondu avec l’écusson qui adopte la même géométrie que l’écu et qui est, lui, une pièce et non un meuble. Il peut adopter n'importe quelle forme visuelle qui pourra être précisée dans le blasonnement si nécessaire.
  10. 10
    Attribut représentant un bouclier ajouté à un meuble qui n’en porte pas d’ordinaire.
  11. 11
    Une des quatre enseignes d’un jeu de cartes suisse, ainsi nommée parce que les cartes de cette couleur sont marquées de boucliers stylisés.
  12. 12
    Race de pigeon.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbouclier,boculier,boucclier,bouciler,boucleir,bouclierr,bouclire,boucllier,boulcier,buoclier,obuclier

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bouclier - 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.

bbouclier1boculier2boucclier1bouciler2boucleir2bouclierr1bouclire2boucllier1
Edit distance from "bouclier"

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 "bouclier"?
"bouclier" is spelled B-O-U-C-L-I-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \bu.kli.je\.
What does "bouclier" mean?
As a noun, "bouclier" means: Arme défensive portée par un combattant pour se protéger des traits ou des coups.
What words are commonly confused with "bouclier"?
"bouclier" is commonly confused with "bouvier", "boursier", "bourbier". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bouclier"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bouclier" is \bu.kli.je\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bouclier" come from?
"bouclier" is a French 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 “bouclier”

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

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