carde

\kaʁd\

/\kaʁd\/ noun

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

The verdict

“carde” is uncommon French (frequency #82,768 among 257,141 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#82,768
frequency rank, French
257,141
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Nervure médiane des feuilles du cardon ou de la bette, plantes cultivées pour servir d’aliment.

Key facts for carde
PropertyValue
Headwordcarde
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kaʁd\
Letters5
Frequency rank#82,768
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “carde” 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). carde 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

carde is uncommon French at frequency #82,768 among 257,141 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \kaʁd\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 7 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for carde, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is carde, spelled C-A-R-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nervure médiane des feuilles du cardon ou de la bette, plantes cultivées pour servir d’aliment.
  2. 2
    Nom donné à la plante elle-même.
  3. 3
    Côte, bonne à manger, des feuilles de poirée.
  4. 4
    Tête épineuse de la cardère ou chardon à foulon, qu’on employait pour carder la laine.
  5. 5
    Instrument dont on se servait pour carder les cheveux destinés à garnir une perruque ou pour nettoyer les limes encrassées.
  6. 6
    Machine garnie de chardons à foulon pour peigner le drap.
  7. 7
    Peigne de cardeur, formé d’une planchette à manche, laquelle était garnie, d’un côté, de pointes de fil d’archal très fin.

Synonyms

bette

This word in other languages

chard(English)carda(Español)Karde(Deutsch)carda(Português)

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 "carde"?
"carde" is spelled C-A-R-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is \kaʁd\.
What does "carde" mean?
As a noun, "carde" means: Nervure médiane des feuilles du cardon ou de la bette, plantes cultivées pour servir d’aliment.
How do you pronounce "carde"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "carde" is \kaʁd\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "carde" come from?
"carde" 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 “carde”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-A-R-D-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \kaʁd\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French 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