dur

\dyʁ\

/\dyʁ\/ adj

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

The verdict

“dur” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #940 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#940
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Ferme ; difficile à pénétrer ou à entamer.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

dur vs DV
0% similar
dur vs dy
33% similar
dur vs dz
33% similar

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

Key facts for dur
PropertyValue
Headworddur
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\dyʁ\
Letters3
Frequency rank#940
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “dur” 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). dur 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 dur is 3 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \dyʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #940 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

dur has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "DV", "dy", "dz", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is dur, spelled D-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ferme ; difficile à pénétrer ou à entamer.
  2. 2
    Qui est opposé à fin.
  3. 3
    Qui est insensible, inhumain ou très sévère ; fâcheux, affligeant, difficile à supporter ; pénible ; rude et désagréable à la sensation.
  4. 4
    Il se dit, dans un sens analogue, des dehors, des manières, des discours.
  5. 5
    Qui est marqué trop fortement ; qui est raide ou heurté.
  6. 6
    Difficile.
  7. 7
    Qui résiste à ; qui supporte.
  8. 8
    Qualifie une mer agitée, aux vagues courtes.
  9. 9
    Qualifie une eau dont la teneur en ions calcium et magnésium dépasse un certain seuil, lequel peut varier selon les normes en vigueur dans chaque pays.

Antonyms

tendremou

This word in other languages

hard(English)duro(Español)hart(Deutsch)duro(Português)

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 "dur"?
"dur" is spelled D-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is \dyʁ\.
What does "dur" mean?
As an adjective, "dur" means: Ferme ; difficile à pénétrer ou à entamer.
What words are commonly confused with "dur"?
"dur" is commonly confused with "DV", "dy", "dz". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dur"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dur" is \dyʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "dur" come from?
"dur" 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 “dur”

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

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