cercle

\sɛʁkl\

/\sɛʁkl\/ noun

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

The verdict

“cercle” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #2,463 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,463
frequency rank, French
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Dans un plan euclidien, lieu de tous les points équidistants d’un point donné appelé le centre du cercle. La distance au centre s’appelle le rayon.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

cercle vs cycle
67% similar
cercle vs certe
67% similar
cercle vs cerne
67% similar

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

Key facts for cercle
PropertyValue
Headwordcercle
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\sɛʁkl\
Letters6
Frequency rank#2,463
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cercle” 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). cercle 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 cercle is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \sɛʁkl\. Corpus data places it at rank #2,463 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 18 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for cercle, with forms such as "ccercle", "cecrle", and "cerccle". 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 16 confusable-pair relationships, "cycle", "certe", "cerne", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Our source data has no etymology on file 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 cercle, spelled C-E-R-C-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Dans un plan euclidien, lieu de tous les points équidistants d’un point donné appelé le centre du cercle. La distance au centre s’appelle le rayon.
  2. 2
    Ligne circulaire, circonférence.
  3. 3
    Toute pièce de métal ou d’autre matière, formant un cercle, qu’on met autour d’une chose pour la serrer, la lier ou l’orner.
  4. 4
    Sorte de moule sans fond de forme cylindrique, servant à confectionner des gâteaux ou des entrées.
  5. 5
    Cerceau de tonneau, de cuve.
  6. 6
    Tonneau ; cuve
  7. 7
    Objet ou instrument de forme circulaire.
  8. 8
    Ligne circulaire fictive qui sert à représenter le mouvement des astres, la succession des saisons, les divisions de la sphère, etc.
  9. 9
    Toute disposition d’objets ou de personnes qui offre à peu près la figure d’une circonférence.
  10. 10
    Réunion ou assemblée d’un petit nombre de personnes ayant les mêmes idées, les mêmes goûts ou partageant la même activité.
  11. 11
    Association dont les membres se réunissent pour des activités communes.
  12. 12
    Endroit où se retrouvent des étudiants dans un but festif, bibitif et culturel.
  13. 13
    Domaine, étendue, limites.
  14. 14
    District administratif.
  15. 15
    Regroupement d’États du Saint-Empire romain germanique ; subdivision de l’Allemagne et de l’Autriche (en allemand : Kreis).
  16. 16
    Cycle.
  17. 17
    Une des neuf zones de l’Enfer imaginé par Dante Alighieri dans la Divine Comédie.
  18. 18
    Symbole autochtone.

Synonyms

rondcénacle

This word in other languages

circle(English)círculo(Español)Kreis(Deutsch)círculo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccercle,cecrle,cerccle,cercel,cerclle,cerlce,cerrcle,crecle,ecrcle

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cercle - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ccercle1cecrle2cerccle1cercel2cerclle1cerlce2cerrcle1crecle2
Edit distance from "cercle"

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 "cercle"?
"cercle" is spelled C-E-R-C-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \sɛʁkl\.
What does "cercle" mean?
As a noun, "cercle" means: Dans un plan euclidien, lieu de tous les points équidistants d’un point donné appelé le centre du cercle. La distance au centre s’appelle le rayon.
What words are commonly confused with "cercle"?
"cercle" is commonly confused with "cycle", "certe", "cerne". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cercle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cercle" is \sɛʁkl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cercle" come from?
"cercle" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “cercle”

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

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