derb
\dɛʁp\
The verdict
“derb” is outside the top-ranked French vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Fort, énergique, vigoureux. Dur au contact, rêche.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | derb |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | \dɛʁp\ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “derb” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for derb is 4 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \dɛʁp\. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Zero misspellings are on record for derb in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is derb, spelled D-E-R-B.
Definition
- 1Fort, énergique, vigoureux. Dur au contact, rêche.
- 2Grossier, rude, rustique, vulgaire.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “derb”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is D-E-R-B - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \dɛʁp\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.