Cherbourg

\ʃɛʁ.buʁ\

/\ʃɛʁ.buʁ\/ name

The verdict

“Cherbourg” has 14 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #16,571. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,571
frequency rank, French
257,141
“C” headwords
14
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Ancienne commune française située dans le département de la Manche intégrée depuis 2000 à la commune de Cherbourg-Octeville.

Corpus desk

Index FR-cherbourg · Cherbourg · French

Cherbourg · rank #16,571 · 14 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,571
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 257,141
  • PHOTO-FINISH chelou

Nearest frequency peer: chelou (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “Cherbourg”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “Cherbourg” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for Cherbourg
PropertyValue
HeadwordCherbourg
LanguageFrench
Part of speechProper noun
IPA\ʃɛʁ.buʁ\
Letters9
Frequency rank#16,571
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Cherbourg” 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). Cherbourg lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around Cherbourg (IPA \ʃɛʁ.buʁ\), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #16,571 among 257,141 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Ancienne commune française située dans le département de la Manche intégrée depuis 2000 à la commune de Cherbourg-Octeville.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for Cherbourg, with forms such as "ccherbourg", "cehrbourg", and "chebrourg". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is Cherbourg, spelled C-H-E-R-B-O-U-R-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ancienne commune française située dans le département de la Manche intégrée depuis 2000 à la commune de Cherbourg-Octeville.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Dans le train de Cherbourg à Paris, le hasard voulu que je trouvasse comme compagnon de wagon un de mes anciens camarades, […].
  2. Denise était venue à pied de la gare Saint-Lazare, où un train de Cherbourg l'avait débarquée avec ses deux frères, après une nuit passée sur la dure banquette d'un wagon de troisième classe.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccherbourg
  • cehrbourg
  • chebrourg
  • cherbbourg
  • cherborug
  • cherbougr
  • cherbourgg
  • cherbourrg
  • cherbuorg
  • cheroburg
  • cherrbourg
  • chherbourg
  • chrebourg
  • hcerbourg

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccherbourg1cehrbourg2chebrourg2cherbbourg1cherborug2cherbougr2cherbourgg1cherbourrg1
Edit distance from "Cherbourg"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Cherbourg"?
"Cherbourg" is spelled C-H-E-R-B-O-U-R-G. The IPA pronunciation is \ʃɛʁ.buʁ\.
What does "Cherbourg" mean?
As a proper noun, "Cherbourg" means: Ancienne commune française située dans le département de la Manche intégrée depuis 2000 à la commune de Cherbourg-Octeville.
What are common misspellings of "Cherbourg"?
Common misspellings include "ccherbourg", "cehrbourg", "chebrourg", "cherbbourg", "cherborug". The correct spelling is "Cherbourg".
How do you pronounce "Cherbourg"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Cherbourg" is \ʃɛʁ.buʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Cherbourg" come from?
"Cherbourg" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

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