cellule

\se.lyl\

/\se.lyl\/ noun

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

The verdict

“cellule” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #3,824 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#3,824
frequency rank, French
7
letters
8
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Petite pièce d’habitation, espace clos.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

cellule vs cellules
88% similar
cellule vs cellulose
78% similar
cellule vs cellulite
78% similar

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

Key facts for cellule
PropertyValue
Headwordcellule
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\se.lyl\
Letters7
Frequency rank#3,824
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cellule” 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). cellule 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 cellule is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \se.lyl\. Corpus data places it at rank #3,824 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 21 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for cellule, with forms such as "ccellule", "celllue", and "celluel". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "cellules", "cellulose", "cellulite", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is cellule, spelled C-E-L-L-U-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Petite pièce d’habitation, espace clos.
  2. 2
    Chambrette qui abrite un religieux.
  3. 3
    Pièce exiguë pour l’habitation dans une institution, généralement destinée à l’enfermement.
  4. 4
    Cachot qui renferme un ou plusieurs prisonniers.
  5. 5
    Alvéole dans une ruche.
  6. 6
    Cavités de certains organes des végétaux ou des animaux enchâssées dans un tissu cellulaire.
  7. 7
    Unité morphologique ou fonctionnelle d’un ensemble organisé.
  8. 8
    Unité structurale et fonctionnelle constituant tout (unicellulaire) ou une partie (pluricellulaire) d’un être vivant, constituée d’un cytoplasme organisé autour d’un noyau et délimité par une membrane.
  9. 9
    Petit groupe spécialisé, dans une organisation.
  10. 10
    Unité de base du parti communiste, petit groupe de militants.
  11. 11
    Élément fondamental d’un motif musical.
  12. 12
    Élément fonctionnel d’une machine, d’un ordinateur, etc.
  13. 13
    Case, unité de base d’une feuille de calcul, d’un tableur.
  14. 14
    Unité de base du système atmosphérique.
  15. 15
    Capteur d’un tourne-disque, qui transforme les déplacements de son style, entrainé par le sillon du disque, en signal électrique.
  16. 16
    Partie d’une aile d’insecte.
  17. 17
    Zone géographique couverte par une antenne-relais de téléphonie mobile.
  18. 18
    Zone géographique élémentaire à laquelle est assigné, pour un service donné, un ensemble de fréquences non utilisables dans les zones proches.
  19. 19
    Paquet comprenant un nombre fixe d’éléments binaires dans le mode de transfert asynchrone.
  20. 20
    Face tridimensionnelle d’un polychore. 3-face.
  21. 21
    Structure mécanique d’un aéronef : fuselage (carlingue), voilure (ailes), nacelles des réacteurs ou moteurs, empennages, gouvernes de vol et trains d’atterrissage.

This word in other languages

cell(English)celda(Español)Zelle(Deutsch)célula(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccellule,celllue,celluel,cellulle,celule,celulle,clelule,ecllule

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccellule1celllue2celluel2cellulle1celule1celulle2clelule2ecllule2
Edit distance from "cellule"

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 "cellule"?
"cellule" is spelled C-E-L-L-U-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \se.lyl\.
What does "cellule" mean?
As a noun, "cellule" means: Petite pièce d’habitation, espace clos.
What words are commonly confused with "cellule"?
"cellule" is commonly confused with "cellules", "cellulose", "cellulite". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cellule"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cellule" is \se.lyl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cellule" come from?
"cellule" 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 “cellule”

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

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