cigale
\si.ɡal\
The verdict
“cigale” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #32,744 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #32,744
- frequency rank, French
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 12
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Insecte ailé de la famille des cicadidés, commun dans les régions méditerranéennes.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cigale |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \si.ɡal\ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #32,744 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 12 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cigale” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for cigale is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \si.ɡal\. Corpus data places it at rank #32,744 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 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 cigale, with forms such as "ccigale", "cgiale", and "ciagle". 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 12 confusable-pair relationships, "civile", "cigare", "circle", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is cigale, spelled C-I-G-A-L-E.
Definition
- 1Insecte ailé de la famille des cicadidés, commun dans les régions méditerranéennes.
- 2Personne qui ne se soucie guère de l’avenir, en opposition à la fourmi et en référence à la fable de La Fontaine.
- 3Manille fixée sur le jas d'une ancre pour y fixer une chaîne ou un câble, organeau.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ccigale,cgiale,ciagle,cigael,cigalle,ciggale,ciglae,icgale
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cigale - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "cigale"?
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Using “cigale”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is C-I-G-A-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \si.ɡal\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “civile” - see the side-by-side comparison. cigale vs civile
- 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.