cae

\ˈka.e\

/\ˈka.e\/ verb

The verdict

“cae” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #43,819 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#43,819
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Troisième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif du verbe irrégulier caer.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

cae vs ce
67% similar
cae vs ci
33% similar
cae vs co
33% similar

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

Key facts for cae
PropertyValue
Headwordcae
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ˈka.e\
Letters3
Frequency rank#43,819
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cae” 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). cae 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 cae is 3 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ˈka.e\. Corpus data places it at rank #43,819 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

cae doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ce", "ci", "co", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is cae, spelled C-A-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Troisième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif du verbe irrégulier caer.
  2. 2
    Impératif de la deuxième personne du singulier du verbe irrégulier caer.

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 "cae"?
"cae" is spelled C-A-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈka.e\.
What does "cae" mean?
As a verb, "cae" means: Troisième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif du verbe irrégulier caer.
What words are commonly confused with "cae"?
"cae" is commonly confused with "ce", "ci", "co". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cae"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cae" is \ˈka.e\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cae" come from?
"cae" 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 “cae”

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

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