cire

\siʁ\

/\siʁ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“cire” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #9,617 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#9,617
frequency rank, French
4
letters
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Ester d'éthylène glycol et d'acides gras.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

cire vs CR
0% similar
cire vs cru
50% similar
cire vs clé
25% similar

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

Key facts for cire
PropertyValue
Headwordcire
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\siʁ\
Letters4
Frequency rank#9,617
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cire” 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). cire 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 cire is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \siʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #9,617 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for cire, with forms such as "ccire", "cier", and "cirre". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "CR", "cru", "clé", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is cire, spelled C-I-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ester d'éthylène glycol et d'acides gras.
  2. 2
    Matière molle, très fusible et jaunâtre, avec laquelle les abeilles construisent les gâteaux de leurs ruches et qu’on emploie à différents usages, dans les arts, dans l’économie domestique, etc.
  3. 3
    Produit ménager, parfois à base de cire d'abeille, utilisé pour entretenir et faire briller les objets en bois.
  4. 4
    Matière plastique à chaud et rigide à froid.
  5. 5
    Luminaire d’une église.
  6. 6
    Composition faite de laque et d’autres matières, à laquelle on donne diverses couleurs et dont on se sert pour cacheter les lettres.
  7. 7
    Humeur épaisse et jaune qui se forme dans les oreilles. → voir cérumen
  8. 8
    Résine, assez semblable à la cire des abeilles, qui coule de certains arbres et qu’on appelle cire végétale.
  9. 9
    Membrane ayant l’aspect de la cire, qu’on remarque à la base du bec de certains oiseaux.

This word in other languages

wax(English)cera(Español)Wachs(Deutsch)cera(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccire,cier,cirre,icre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cire - 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.

ccire1cier2cirre1icre2
Edit distance from "cire"

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 "cire"?
"cire" is spelled C-I-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \siʁ\.
What does "cire" mean?
As a noun, "cire" means: Ester d'éthylène glycol et d'acides gras.
What words are commonly confused with "cire"?
"cire" is commonly confused with "CR", "cru", "clé". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cire"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cire" is \siʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cire" come from?
"cire" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “cire”

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

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