humble

^((h muet))\œ̃bl\

/^((h muet))\œ̃bl\/ adj

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

The verdict

“humble” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #7,973 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#7,973
frequency rank, French
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui manifeste de l’humilité, une extrême modestie, qui s'abaisse volontairement.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

humble vs hume
67% similar
humble vs hurle
67% similar
humble vs humide
67% similar

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

Key facts for humble
PropertyValue
Headwordhumble
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA^((h muet))\œ̃bl\
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,973
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “humble” 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). humble 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 humble is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as ^((h muet))\œ̃bl\. Corpus data places it at rank #7,973 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for humble, with forms such as "hhumble", "hmuble", and "hubmle". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "hume", "hurle", "humide", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is humble, spelled H-U-M-B-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui manifeste de l’humilité, une extrême modestie, qui s'abaisse volontairement.
  2. 2
    Qui porte trop loin la déférence et le respect.
  3. 3
    Qui marque du respect et de la déférence, en parlant des choses.
  4. 4
    Qui est modeste.
  5. 5
    Qui a peu d’élévation, peu d’apparence, peu d’éclat, qui est sans prétention.
  6. 6
    Qui est médiocre, peu relevé.
  7. 7
    Qui est d’une condition sociale très modeste.

This word in other languages

humble(English)humilde(Español)demütig(Deutsch)humilde(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: hhumble,hmuble,hubmle,humbble,humbel,humblle,humlbe,hummble,uhmble

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of humble - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hhumble1hmuble2hubmle2humbble1humbel2humblle1humlbe2hummble1
Edit distance from "humble"

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 "humble"?
"humble" is spelled H-U-M-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is ^((h muet))\œ̃bl\.
What does "humble" mean?
As an adjective, "humble" means: Qui manifeste de l’humilité, une extrême modestie, qui s'abaisse volontairement.
What words are commonly confused with "humble"?
"humble" is commonly confused with "hume", "hurle", "humide". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "humble"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "humble" is ^((h muet))\œ̃bl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "humble" come from?
"humble" 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.

Using “humble”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is H-U-M-B-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as ^((h muet))\œ̃bl\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “hume” - see the side-by-side comparison. humble vs hume
  • 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