légende

\le.ʒɑ̃d\

/\le.ʒɑ̃d\/ noun

The verdict

“légende” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #2,183 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,183
frequency rank, French
7
letters
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Inscription gravée circulairement près des bords et quelquefois sur la tranche d’une pièce de monnaie, d’un jeton, d’une médaille.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

légende vs légère
57% similar
légende vs légendes
88% similar
légende vs legend
71% similar

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

Key facts for légende
PropertyValue
Headwordlégende
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\le.ʒɑ̃d\
Letters7
Frequency rank#2,183
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “légende” 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). légende 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 légende is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \le.ʒɑ̃d\. Corpus data places it at rank #2,183 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 13 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 légende, with forms such as "legende", "lgéende", and "llégende". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "légère", "légendes", "legend", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is légende, spelled L-É-G-E-N-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Inscription gravée circulairement près des bords et quelquefois sur la tranche d’une pièce de monnaie, d’un jeton, d’une médaille.
  2. 2
    Âme d’une devise, de ce qu’on y peut lire.
  3. 3
    Liste placée sur un plan d’architecture, sur une carte topographique, géographique (mappemonde ou autre), etc., pour expliquer les lettres, les signes, les couleurs par lesquels on indique les différentes parties ou les endroits remarquables.
  4. 4
    Liste placée sur un plan d’architecture, sur une carte topographique, géographique (mappemonde ou autre), etc., pour expliquer les lettres, les signes, les couleurs par lesquels on indique les différentes parties ou les endroits remarquables.
  5. 5
    Liste placée sur un plan d’architecture, sur une carte topographique, géographique (mappemonde ou autre), etc., pour expliquer les lettres, les signes, les couleurs par lesquels on indique les différentes parties ou les endroits remarquables.
  6. 6
    Paroles qu’on trouve inscrites dans un tableau, ou dans une estampe, et qui semblent parfois sortir de la bouche des personnages.
  7. 7
    Notice explicative mise au bas ou au-dessous d’un tableau, d’un dessin.
  8. 8
    Récit populaire, plus ou moins fabuleux, qui s’est transmis par la tradition.
  9. 9
    Récit mythique.
  10. 10
    Ouvrage contenant le récit de la vie des saints.
  11. 11
    Histoire fausse.
  12. 12
    Histoire fausse cherchant à donner à un événement banal un caractère spectaculaire.
  13. 13
    Personne célèbre, talentueuse ou héroïque qui a atteint un certain succès, une certaine notoriété dans un domaine, un milieu.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: legende,lgéende,llégende,léegnde,légedne,légendde,légened,légennde,léggende,légnede,élgende

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

legende1lgéende2llégende1léegnde2légedne2légendde1légened2légennde1
Edit distance from "légende"

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 "légende"?
"légende" is spelled L-É-G-E-N-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is \le.ʒɑ̃d\.
What does "légende" mean?
As a noun, "légende" means: Inscription gravée circulairement près des bords et quelquefois sur la tranche d’une pièce de monnaie, d’un jeton, d’une médaille.
What words are commonly confused with "légende"?
"légende" is commonly confused with "légère", "légendes", "legend". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "légende"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "légende" is \le.ʒɑ̃d\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "légende" come from?
"légende" 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 “légende”

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

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