couleur

\ku.lœʁ\

/\ku.lœʁ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“couleur” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #1,023 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,023
frequency rank, French
7
letters
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Caractéristique visuelle de la lumière visible donnée par la distribution de ses longueurs d’onde.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

couleur vs couper
71% similar
couleur vs coûter
57% similar
couleur vs couloir
71% similar

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

Key facts for couleur
PropertyValue
Headwordcouleur
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ku.lœʁ\
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,023
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “couleur” 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). couleur 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 couleur is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ku.lœʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #1,023 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 22 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 couleur, with forms such as "ccouleur", "colueur", and "couelur". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "couper", "coûter", "couloir", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is couleur, spelled C-O-U-L-E-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Caractéristique visuelle de la lumière visible donnée par la distribution de ses longueurs d’onde.
  2. 2
    Caractéristique visuelle de la matière donnée par la distribution des longueurs d’onde de l’absorption de la lumière blanche.
  3. 3
    Ce qui n’est pas blanc ou noir.
  4. 4
    Ce qui n’est pas blanc ou noir.
  5. 5
    Ce qui dans la palette héraldique, n'est ni métal ni fourrure.n’est pas métallique. Est parfois nommé "émail"
  6. 6
    Couleur vive par opposition au noir, au gris, etc.
  7. 7
    Substance dont se sert pour colorer, coloris.
  8. 8
    Se dit du style, des expressions considérées comme étant, pour celui qui écrit ou qui parle, ce que la palette est pour le peintre.
  9. 9
    Apparence, tournure que prennent les choses selon les circonstances.
  10. 10
    Caractère propre à telle ou telle opinion.
  11. 11
    Raison apparente dont on se sert pour couvrir et pallier quelque mensonge ou quelque mauvaise action, afin de persuader ce qu’on désire.
  12. 12
    Teint du visage qui exprime une émotion ou la santé.
  13. 13
    Teinte artificielle des cheveux.
  14. 14
    Enseigne, symbole du jeu de cartes français que sont les cœurs (♥), carreaux (♦), trèfles (♣) ou piques (♠).
  15. 15
    Main contenant cinq cartes de la même couleur.
  16. 16
    Couleur de peau pour catégoriser les êtres humains, comme blanc, noir et jaune.
  17. 17
    Couleur de peau autre que le blanc.
  18. 18
    Nombre quantique des quarks et des antiquarks.
  19. 19
    Symbole.
  20. 20
    Symbole.
  21. 21
    Sensation psycho-physiologique résultant de la vision d’une surface colorée.
  22. 22
    Perception chromatique perçue par l’œil.

Synonyms

coloristeinte

This word in other languages

color(English)color(Español)Farbe(Deutsch)cor(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccouleur,colueur,couelur,couleru,couleurr,coulleur,couluer,cuoleur,oculeur

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of couleur - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ccouleur1colueur2couelur2couleru2couleurr1coulleur1couluer2cuoleur2
Edit distance from "couleur"

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 "couleur"?
"couleur" is spelled C-O-U-L-E-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is \ku.lœʁ\.
What does "couleur" mean?
As a noun, "couleur" means: Caractéristique visuelle de la lumière visible donnée par la distribution de ses longueurs d’onde.
What words are commonly confused with "couleur"?
"couleur" is commonly confused with "couper", "coûter", "couloir". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "couleur"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "couleur" is \ku.lœʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "couleur" come from?
"couleur" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “couleur”

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

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