circle

/\ˈsɝ.kl̩\/ noun

Letters

6 characters

Frequency Rank

#24,905

in French word usage

Misspellings

9

tracked variants

Confusables

19

similar word pairs

circle is aFrenchnoun. It means: Cercle. Pronounced \ˈsɝ.kl̩\. Often confused with cire and cycle.

Key facts for circle
PropertyValue
Headwordcircle
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ˈsɝ.kl̩\
Letters6
Frequency rank#24,905
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs19
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of circle in French word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for circle is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ˈsɝ.kl̩\. Corpus data places it at rank #24,905 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 9 documented wrong-spelling variants for circle, with forms such as "ccircle", "cicrle", and "circcle". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 19 confusable-pair relationships, "cire", "cycle", "civile", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct French form is circle, spelled C-I-R-C-L-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Cercle.
  2. 2
    Courbe ou disposition d’objets qui se rapproche ou ressemble à un cercle.
  3. 3
    Orbite d’un corps astronomique.
  4. 4
    Cercle, réunion d’un petit nombre de personnes.
  5. 5
    Division territoriale ou administrative de certains pays européens.
  6. 6
    Cerne.

Synonyms

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccircle,cicrle,circcle,circel,circlle,cirlce,cirrcle,cricle,icrcle

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for circle

Misspelling Variants of "circle"

ccircle7cicrle6circcle7circel6circlle7cirlce6cirrcle7cricle6
Misspelling Variants of "circle"

Frequency rank: #24,905 in French

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "circle"?
"circle" is spelled C-I-R-C-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈsɝ.kl̩\.
What does "circle" mean?
As a noun, "circle" means: Cercle.
What words are commonly confused with "circle"?
"circle" is commonly confused with "cire", "cycle", "civile". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "circle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "circle" is \ˈsɝ.kl̩\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "circle" come from?
"circle" 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.

Nearby French words

Other entries that begin with the letter C in our French index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.