foudre

\fudʁ\

/\fudʁ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“foudre” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #7,830 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#7,830
frequency rank, French
6
letters
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Décharge électrique, par temps d’orage, entre des nuages et certaines fois entre des nuages et le sol, qui produit une vive lumière (dite éclair) et une violente détonation (dont le son est dit ton...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

foudre vs four
67% similar
foudre vs foule
67% similar
foudre vs fours
67% similar

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

Key facts for foudre
PropertyValue
Headwordfoudre
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\fudʁ\
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,830
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “foudre” 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). foudre 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 foudre is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \fudʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #7,830 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for foudre, with forms such as "ffoudre", "fodure", and "fouddre". 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, "four", "foule", "fours", 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 its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is foudre, spelled F-O-U-D-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Décharge électrique, par temps d’orage, entre des nuages et certaines fois entre des nuages et le sol, qui produit une vive lumière (dite éclair) et une violente détonation (dont le son est dit tonnerre). On dit, comme sur la photo, que la foudre est tombée quand elle a touché le sol ou quelque chose en relief sur le sol ou connecté au sol: arbre, construction, etc., a été touché.
  2. 2
    Ce qui est aussi prompt, aussi rapide, aussi destructeur que la foudre.
  3. 3
    Réprobation religieuse ; condamnation religieuse.
  4. 4
    Colère.
  5. 5
    Ornement en forme de zigzag, représentant la foudre, utilisé comme insigne de certains rangs (officiers brevetés d’état-major, en France) ou services militaires (les communications, fréquemment).
  6. 6
    masculin

Synonyms

feu célestefeu du ciel

This word in other languages

lightning(English)rayo(Español)Blitz(Deutsch)corisco(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ffoudre,fodure,fouddre,fouder,foudrre,fourde,fuodre,ofudre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ffoudre1fodure2fouddre1fouder2foudrre1fourde2fuodre2ofudre2
Edit distance from "foudre"

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 "foudre"?
"foudre" is spelled F-O-U-D-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \fudʁ\.
What does "foudre" mean?
As a noun, "foudre" means: Décharge électrique, par temps d’orage, entre des nuages et certaines fois entre des nuages et le sol, qui produit une vive lumière (dite éclair) et une violente détonation (dont le son est dit ton...
What words are commonly confused with "foudre"?
"foudre" is commonly confused with "four", "foule", "fours". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "foudre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "foudre" is \fudʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "foudre" come from?
"foudre" 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 “foudre”

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

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