cartel

/\kaʁ.tɛl\/ noun

Letters

6 characters

Frequency Rank

#14,878

in French word usage

Misspellings

9

tracked variants

Confusables

20

similar word pairs

cartel is aFrenchnoun. It means: Écrit par lequel on défiait quelqu’un pour un combat singulier. Défi par écrit pour un combat dans une fête, aux tournois, ou en duel solennel. Pronounced \kaʁ.tɛl\. Often confused with cruel and caste.

Key facts for cartel
PropertyValue
Headwordcartel
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kaʁ.tɛl\
Letters6
Frequency rank#14,878
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of cartel in French word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for cartel is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \kaʁ.tɛl\. Corpus data places it at rank #14,878 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for cartel, with forms such as "acrtel", "caretl", and "carrtel". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cruel", "caste", "corte", 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 spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct French form is cartel, spelled C-A-R-T-E-L, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Écrit par lequel on défiait quelqu’un pour un combat singulier. Défi par écrit pour un combat dans une fête, aux tournois, ou en duel solennel.
  2. 2
    Convention entre les chefs de deux armées belligérantes en vue d’une suspension d’armes, d’un échange de prisonniers, etc.
  3. 3
    Plaquette ou étiquette, fixée sur le cadre d’un tableau, sur le socle d’une statue, ou à côté d’une œuvre et donnant diverses informations : titre, auteur, etc.
  4. 4
    Ornement qui entoure le cadran de certaines pendules portatives faites pour être appliquées à la muraille, au lambris, dans un appartement et, par extension, la pendule même.
  5. 5
    Bateau chargé d’une mission pacifique, ou parlementaire, il n’est pas armé et ne doit pas être attaqué par les belligérants.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: acrtel,caretl,carrtel,cartell,cartle,carttel,catrel,ccartel,cratel

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for cartel

Misspelling Variants of "cartel"

acrtel6caretl6carrtel7cartell7cartle6carttel7catrel6ccartel7
Misspelling Variants of "cartel"

Frequency rank: #14,878 in French

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cartel"?
"cartel" is spelled C-A-R-T-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is \kaʁ.tɛl\.
What does "cartel" mean?
As a noun, "cartel" means: Écrit par lequel on défiait quelqu’un pour un combat singulier. Défi par écrit pour un combat dans une fête, aux tournois, ou en duel solennel.
What words are commonly confused with "cartel"?
"cartel" is commonly confused with "cruel", "caste", "corte". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cartel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cartel" is \kaʁ.tɛl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cartel" come from?
"cartel" 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.

Nearby French words

Other entries that begin with the letter C in our French index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.