encre

\ɑ̃kʁ\

/\ɑ̃kʁ\/ noun

The verdict

“encre” has 7 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #7,055. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,055
frequency rank, French
3,255
“E” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Liquide ordinairement noir dont on se sert pour écrire, pour imprimer.

Corpus desk

Index FR-encre · encre · French

encre · rank #7,055 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,055
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,255
  • PHOTO-FINISH envisage

Nearest frequency peer: envisage (+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 « encre »

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

corpus weight

What this shows « encre » 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).

encre vs EnR
20% similar
encre vs etre
60% similar
encre vs erre
60% similar

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

Key facts for encre
PropertyValue
Headwordencre
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɑ̃kʁ\
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,055
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « encre »

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).encrese place ici:

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

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « envisage » (#7,056), « exécuter » (#7,057), « dérive » (#7,052). Parmi 3,255 lemmes en « E », « encre » est au #7,055. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around encre (IPA \ɑ̃kʁ\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,055 among 3,255 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for encre, with forms such as "ecnre", "enccre", and "encer". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "EnR", "etre", "erre", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

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 encre, spelled E-N-C-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Liquide ordinairement noir dont on se sert pour écrire, pour imprimer.
  2. 2
    Substance très foncée projetée dans l’eau par les poulpes, seiches et calmars pour échapper à un prédateur.
  3. 3
    Maladie provoquant des écoulements noirâtres ; écoulement noirâtre en question.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Le tactac des linos emplissait leurs oreilles. Fagerolle […] connaissait cette odeur poussiéreuse de plomb et de papier chargé d’encre fraîche.
  2. Il y avait vraiment une malédiction du Ciel sur les ganaches de sacristie qui n’appréhendaient pas de manier une plume. Leur encre se muait aussitôt en une pâte, en un galipot, en une poix qui engluaient tout.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ecnre
  • enccre
  • encer
  • encrre
  • enncre
  • enrce
  • necre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ecnre2enccre1encer2encrre1enncre1enrce2necre2
Edit distance from "encre"

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 "encre"?
"encre" is spelled E-N-C-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ɑ̃kʁ\.
What does "encre" mean?
As a noun, "encre" means: Liquide ordinairement noir dont on se sert pour écrire, pour imprimer.
What words are commonly confused with "encre"?
"encre" is commonly confused with "EnR", "etre", "erre". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "encre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "encre" is \ɑ̃kʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "encre" come from?
"encre" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "encre", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list