chiffre

\ʃifʁ\

/\ʃifʁ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“chiffre” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #1,946 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,946
frequency rank, French
7
letters
9
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Caractère utilisé pour écrire les nombres. Par analogie avec les mots, on peut dire que les chiffres constituent l’alphabet des nombres.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

chiffre vs coffre
71% similar
chiffre vs coiffe
71% similar
chiffre vs chimère
71% similar

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

Key facts for chiffre
PropertyValue
Headwordchiffre
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ʃifʁ\
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,946
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “chiffre” 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). chiffre 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 chiffre is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ʃifʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #1,946 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 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 chiffre, with forms such as "cchiffre", "chfifre", and "chhiffre". 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 12 confusable-pair relationships, "coffre", "coiffe", "chimère", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is chiffre, spelled C-H-I-F-F-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Caractère utilisé pour écrire les nombres. Par analogie avec les mots, on peut dire que les chiffres constituent l’alphabet des nombres.
  2. 2
    Tout nombre.
  3. 3
    Encodage, manière secrète d’écrire par le moyen de certains caractères numériques ou de lettres dont on est convenu avec ceux à qui l’on écrit.
  4. 4
    Code secret pour la transmission des dépêches militaires.
  5. 5
    Service d'une armée ou d'une ambassade chargée de coder les dépêches.
  6. 6
    Ornement composé d’une ou de plusieurs initiales de prénoms, de noms, destiné à être apposé sur un objet personnel.
  7. 7
    Se dit des signes numériques placés au-dessus ou au-dessous des notes de la basse pour indiquer les accords qu’elles doivent porter.
  8. 8
    Papillon de la famille des nymphalidés, dont les ailes sont de couleur orangé vif, ornementé de taches et de traits.

Synonyms

nombrenumérocodeclésigle

This word in other languages

cipher(English)cifra(Español)Ziffer(Deutsch)cifra(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: cchiffre,chfifre,chhiffre,chiffer,chiffrre,chifre,chifrfe,cihffre,hciffre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of chiffre - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

cchiffre1chfifre2chhiffre1chiffer2chiffrre1chifre1chifrfe2cihffre2
Edit distance from "chiffre"

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 "chiffre"?
"chiffre" is spelled C-H-I-F-F-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ʃifʁ\.
What does "chiffre" mean?
As a noun, "chiffre" means: Caractère utilisé pour écrire les nombres. Par analogie avec les mots, on peut dire que les chiffres constituent l’alphabet des nombres.
What words are commonly confused with "chiffre"?
"chiffre" is commonly confused with "coffre", "coiffe", "chimère". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "chiffre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chiffre" is \ʃifʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "chiffre" come from?
"chiffre" 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 “chiffre”

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

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