distinguer

\dis.tɛ̃.ɡe\

/\dis.tɛ̃.ɡe\/ verb

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

The verdict

“distinguer” has 15 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #5,859. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,859
frequency rank, French
5,307
“D” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Discerner par l’un des sens.

Corpus desk

Index FR-distinguer · distinguer · French

distinguer · rank #5,859 · 15 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,859
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,307
  • PHOTO-FINISH descend

Nearest frequency peer: descend (-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.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « distinguer »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « distinguer » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

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).

distinguer vs distingué
80% similar
distinguer vs distingua
80% similar
distinguer vs distinguée
80% similar

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

Key facts for distinguer
PropertyValue
Headworddistinguer
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\dis.tɛ̃.ɡe\
Letters10
Frequency rank#5,859
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « distinguer »

La fréquence va de la poignée de mots du quotidien (gauche) à la longue queue presque jamais vue (droite).distinguerse place ici:

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

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « descend » (#5,858), « demandait » (#5,857), « définitive » (#5,861). Parmi 5,307 lemmes en « D », « distinguer » est au #5,859. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around distinguer (IPA \dis.tɛ̃.ɡe\), averb. Corpus frequency is #5,859 among 5,307 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for distinguer, with forms such as "ddistinguer", "disitnguer", and "disstinguer". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "distingué", "distingua", "distinguée", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is distinguer, spelled D-I-S-T-I-N-G-U-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Discerner par l’un des sens.
  2. 2
    Discerner par l’opération de l’esprit.
  3. 3
    Séparer nettement une chose d’une autre selon ce qu’elle a de propre ou de spécial.
  4. 4
    Marquer les divers sens qu’une proposition peut avoir.
  5. 5
    Rendre nettement manifeste ou discernable.
  6. 6
    Élever au-dessus des autres, tirer du commun, rendre remarquable.
  7. 7
    Remarquer, préférer.
  8. 8
    Traiter avec égards.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Et en même temps une portière de velours violet fleurdelisé d’or se soulevant, le duc distingua dans l’ombre la reine elle-même, […].
  2. Le jeûne commence au f’jer, à l'heure où l'on parvient à distinguer un fil blanc d'un fil noir.

This word in other languages

distinguish(English)distinguir(Español)unterscheiden(Deutsch)distinguir(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddistinguer
  • disitnguer
  • disstinguer
  • distignuer
  • distingeur
  • distingguer
  • distinguerr
  • distingure
  • distinnguer
  • distinuger
  • distniguer
  • disttinguer
  • ditsinguer
  • dsitinguer
  • idstinguer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddistinguer1disitnguer2disstinguer1distignuer2distingeur2distingguer1distinguerr1distingure2
Edit distance from "distinguer"

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 "distinguer"?
"distinguer" is spelled D-I-S-T-I-N-G-U-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \dis.tɛ̃.ɡe\.
What does "distinguer" mean?
As a verb, "distinguer" means: Discerner par l’un des sens.
What words are commonly confused with "distinguer"?
"distinguer" is commonly confused with "distingué", "distingua", "distinguée". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "distinguer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "distinguer" is \dis.tɛ̃.ɡe\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "distinguer" come from?
"distinguer" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

définitive#5,861criminelle#5,853inventaire#5,878juridiques#5,884

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

condamnés15 variantsMademoiselle15 variantsparticules15 variantspermettrait15 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list