encourir

\ɑ̃.ku.ʁiʁ\

/\ɑ̃.ku.ʁiʁ\/ verb

The verdict

“encourir” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #49,062 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#49,062
frequency rank, French
8
letters
11
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Attirer sur soi, faciliter la survenue, la réalisation, d'un châtiment, d'une peine venant d’une autorité supérieure, d'une pénalité, d'un jugement moral. Le sens de ce verbe contient une connotati...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

encourir vs encours
75% similar
encourir vs encourt
75% similar
encourir vs enfouir
75% similar

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

Key facts for encourir
PropertyValue
Headwordencourir
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ɑ̃.ku.ʁiʁ\
Letters8
Frequency rank#49,062
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “encourir” 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). encourir 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 encourir is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɑ̃.ku.ʁiʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #49,062 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for encourir, with forms such as "ecnourir", "enccourir", and "encoruir". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "encours", "encourt", "enfouir", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is encourir, spelled E-N-C-O-U-R-I-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Attirer sur soi, faciliter la survenue, la réalisation, d'un châtiment, d'une peine venant d’une autorité supérieure, d'une pénalité, d'un jugement moral. Le sens de ce verbe contient une connotation de probabilité mais non de certitude : l'objet encouru n'est pas systématiquement réalisé (une peine encourue n'est pas systématiquement appliquée).
  2. 2
    Mériter un châtiment, une peine, un jugement moral.
  3. 3
    Risquer d'être condamné à une peine, risquer d'être sanctionné.
  4. 4
    Être susceptible de devoir payer une somme.
  5. 5
    S'esquiver rapidement.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ecnourir,enccourir,encoruir,encouirr,encourirr,encourri,encourrir,encuorir,enncourir,enocurir,necourir

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ecnourir2enccourir1encoruir2encouirr2encourirr1encourri2encourrir1encuorir2
Edit distance from "encourir"

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 "encourir"?
"encourir" is spelled E-N-C-O-U-R-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is \ɑ̃.ku.ʁiʁ\.
What does "encourir" mean?
As a verb, "encourir" means: Attirer sur soi, faciliter la survenue, la réalisation, d'un châtiment, d'une peine venant d’une autorité supérieure, d'une pénalité, d'un jugement moral. Le sens de ce verbe contient une connotati...
What words are commonly confused with "encourir"?
"encourir" is commonly confused with "encours", "encourt", "enfouir". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "encourir"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "encourir" is \ɑ̃.ku.ʁiʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "encourir" come from?
"encourir" 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 “encourir”

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

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