garde

\ɡaʁd\

/\ɡaʁd\/ noun

The verdict

“garde” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #613 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#613
frequency rank, French
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Soldat effectuant une garde, chargé de la protection d’une personne, de la surveillance d’un lieu.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

garde vs gré
40% similar
garde vs gars
60% similar
garde vs gare
80% similar

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

Key facts for garde
PropertyValue
Headwordgarde
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɡaʁd\
Letters5
Frequency rank#613
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “garde” 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). garde 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 garde is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɡaʁd\. Corpus data places it at rank #613 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for garde, with forms such as "agrde", "gadre", and "gardde". 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, "gré", "gars", "gare", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is garde, spelled G-A-R-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Soldat effectuant une garde, chargé de la protection d’une personne, de la surveillance d’un lieu.
  2. 2
    Soldat faisant partie d’un corps de garde.
  3. 3
    Se dit de toute personne chargée de garder quelqu’un ou quelque chose.
  4. 4
    Désignation du grade d’un membre d’un régiment de gardes de l’infanterie détenant le grade de soldat.

Synonyms

💂💂♀️💂♂️guetteurhomme de quartsentinellesurveillantveilleurvigile

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: agrde,gadre,gardde,gared,garrde,ggarde

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

agrde2gadre2gardde1gared2garrde1ggarde1
Edit distance from "garde"

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 "garde"?
"garde" is spelled G-A-R-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ɡaʁd\.
What does "garde" mean?
As a noun, "garde" means: Soldat effectuant une garde, chargé de la protection d’une personne, de la surveillance d’un lieu.
What words are commonly confused with "garde"?
"garde" is commonly confused with "gré", "gars", "gare". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "garde"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "garde" is \ɡaʁd\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "garde" come from?
"garde" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “garde”

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

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