cerf

\sɛʁ\

/\sɛʁ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“cerf” has 6 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #9,795. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,795
frequency rank, French
8,609
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Cervidé qui porte sur la tête des cornes ramifiées appelées « bois ».

Corpus desk

Index FR-cerf · cerf · French

cerf · rank #9,795 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,795
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,609
  • PHOTO-FINISH centenaire

Nearest frequency peer: centenaire (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « cerf »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « cerf » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

cerf vs CR
0% similar
cerf vs ces
50% similar
cerf vs cet
50% similar

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

Key facts for cerf
PropertyValue
Headwordcerf
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\sɛʁ\
Letters4
Frequency rank#9,795
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « cerf »

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).cerfse place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « centenaire » (#9,794), « clarté » (#9,796), « cavaliers » (#9,793). Parmi 8,609 lemmes en « C », « cerf » est au #9,795. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around cerf (IPA \sɛʁ\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,795 among 8,609 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for cerf, with forms such as "ccerf", "cefr", and "cerff". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "CR", "ces", "cet", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is cerf, spelled C-E-R-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    Cervidé qui porte sur la tête des cornes ramifiées appelées « bois ».
  2. 2
    Cerf élaphe.
  3. 3
    Meuble représentant l’animal du même nom dans les armoiries. Il est généralement représenté passant, vilené avec une ramure. À rapprocher de biche, chevreuil, daim et élan.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cerf appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Le grand cerf sauta la haie et disparut dans la forêt.
  2. Quand le cerf commençait à gémir sous les morsures, il l’abattait prestement, puis se délectait à la furie des mâtins qui le dévoraient, coupé en pièces sur sa peau fumante.

This word in other languages

deer(English)ciervo(Español)Hirsch(Deutsch)veado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccerf
  • cefr
  • cerff
  • cerrf
  • cref
  • ecrf

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccerf1cefr2cerff1cerrf1cref2ecrf2
Edit distance from "cerf"

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 "cerf"?
"cerf" is spelled C-E-R-F. The IPA pronunciation is \sɛʁ\.
What does "cerf" mean?
As a noun, "cerf" means: Cervidé qui porte sur la tête des cornes ramifiées appelées « bois ».
What words are commonly confused with "cerf"?
"cerf" is commonly confused with "CR", "ces", "cet". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cerf"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cerf" is \sɛʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cerf" come from?
"cerf" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cerf", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

XVIe#9,768fief#9,833trip#9,757lens#9,866

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

bulles6 variantsDiana6 variantsaccrue6 variantsEiffel6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list