caverne

\ka.vɛʁn\

/\ka.vɛʁn\/ noun

The verdict

“caverne” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #16,566 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#16,566
frequency rank, French
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Cavité naturelle dans des rochers, dans des montagnes, sous terre.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

caverne vs cerne
71% similar
caverne vs Cayenne
57% similar
caverne vs citerne
71% similar

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

Key facts for caverne
PropertyValue
Headwordcaverne
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ka.vɛʁn\
Letters7
Frequency rank#16,566
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “caverne” 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). caverne 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 caverne is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ka.vɛʁn\. Corpus data places it at rank #16,566 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for caverne, with forms such as "acverne", "caevrne", and "cavenre". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "cerne", "Cayenne", "citerne", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented 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 caverne, spelled C-A-V-E-R-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Cavité naturelle dans des rochers, dans des montagnes, sous terre.
  2. 2
    Maison mal fréquentée où l’on court des risques pour son argent ou pour sa personne.
  3. 3
    Excavation produite dans le poumon à la suite de l’évacuation d’un abcès, d’un tubercule ramolli, d’une escarre de gangrène, etc.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: acverne,caevrne,cavenre,caveren,cavernne,caverrne,cavrene,cavverne,ccaverne,cvaerne

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of caverne - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

acverne2caevrne2cavenre2caveren2cavernne1caverrne1cavrene2cavverne1
Edit distance from "caverne"

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 "caverne"?
"caverne" is spelled C-A-V-E-R-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ka.vɛʁn\.
What does "caverne" mean?
As a noun, "caverne" means: Cavité naturelle dans des rochers, dans des montagnes, sous terre.
What words are commonly confused with "caverne"?
"caverne" is commonly confused with "cerne", "Cayenne", "citerne". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "caverne"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "caverne" is \ka.vɛʁn\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "caverne" come from?
"caverne" 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 “caverne”

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

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