cuir

\kɥiʁ\

/\kɥiʁ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“cuir” has 5 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #4,847. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,847
frequency rank, French
8,609
“C” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Peau épaisse de certains animaux.

Corpus desk

Index FR-cuir · cuir · French

cuir · rank #4,847 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,847
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,609
  • PHOTO-FINISH contraintes

Nearest frequency peer: contraintes (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “cuir”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “cuir” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

cuir vs cul
50% similar
cuir vs cup
50% similar
cuir vs Cyr
25% similar

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

Key facts for cuir
PropertyValue
Headwordcuir
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kɥiʁ\
Letters4
Frequency rank#4,847
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Où “cuir” se place dans la fréquence du français

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.cuirse place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « contraintes » (#4,846), « CV » (#4,848), « câble » (#4,849). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around cuir (IPA \kɥiʁ\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,847 among 8,609 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for cuir, with forms such as "ccuir", "ciur", and "cuirr". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cul", "cup", "Cyr", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is cuir, spelled C-U-I-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Peau épaisse de certains animaux.
  2. 2
    Peau des animaux, quand elle est séparée de la chair et corroyée.
  3. 3
    Objet fabriqué dans une telle peau.
  4. 4
    Lanière de cuir tendue que les barbiers et les coiffeurs utilisaient pour parfaire l’affûtage des rasoirs (coupe-choux), pour éliminer le morfil. On le nomme aussi "cuir à repasser".
  5. 5
    Ballon de cuir.
  6. 6
    Peau de l’homme.
  7. 7
    Procédé de langage qui consiste à lier les mots entre eux avec un \t\ qui ne fait partie d’aucun mot. Lorsqu’il s’agit d’un \z\ on parle de velours.
  8. 8
    Friandise constituée d’une purée ou d’une compote de fruit séchée.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cuir appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. L’âne et le mulet ont le cuir extrêmement épais et dur.
  2. Autrefois, nos écorces se vendaient à vil prix, et nos cuirs n’avaient pas une grande valeur ; mais nos écorces et nos cuirs, une fois bonifiés, la rivière nous permit de construire des moulins à tan, il nous vint des tanneurs dont le commerce s’accrut rapidement.

This word in other languages

hide(English)cuero(Español)Leder(Deutsch)couro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccuir
  • ciur
  • cuirr
  • curi
  • ucir

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccuir1ciur2cuirr1curi2ucir2
Edit distance from "cuir"

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 "cuir"?
"cuir" is spelled C-U-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is \kɥiʁ\.
What does "cuir" mean?
As a noun, "cuir" means: Peau épaisse de certains animaux.
What words are commonly confused with "cuir"?
"cuir" is commonly confused with "cul", "cup", "Cyr". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cuir"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cuir" is \kɥiʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cuir" come from?
"cuir" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cuir", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

brut#4,835Jazz#4,868unes#4,815pile#4,786

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

bosse5 variantscave5 variantsgain5 variantsCris5 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "cuir". Here's where to go from here.

  • "cuir" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "cul". View pair
  • 5 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #4,847 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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