lettre

\lɛtʁ\

/\lɛtʁ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“lettre” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #1,002 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,002
frequency rank, French
6
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Chacun des caractères d’un alphabet représentant un son, voyelle ou consonne.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

lettre vs lutte
67% similar
lettre vs litre
67% similar
lettre vs lèvre
50% similar

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

Key facts for lettre
PropertyValue
Headwordlettre
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\lɛtʁ\
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,002
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “lettre” 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). lettre 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 lettre is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \lɛtʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #1,002 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 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for lettre, with forms such as "elttre", "letre", and "letrte". 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, "lutte", "litre", "lèvre", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is lettre, spelled L-E-T-T-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Chacun des caractères d’un alphabet représentant un son, voyelle ou consonne.
  2. 2
    Police de caractères ou manière de représenter les lettres.
  3. 3
    Chacun des caractères individuels d’une police.
  4. 4
    Message écrit sur du papier, expédié à un destinataire, généralement sous pli.
  5. 5
    Caractère de métal, alliage de plomb, d’antimoine et d’étain, représentant en relief une des lettres de l’alphabet.
  6. 6
    En parlant d’un texte, se dit du sens littéral, par opposition au sens figuré ou extensif.
  7. 7
    Pâte alimentaire en forme de lettre, utilisée dans la soupe à la place du vermicelle. (généralement au pluriel)

Synonyms

bafouilledépêchenotepouletpli

This word in other languages

letter(English)letra(Español)Buchstabe(Deutsch)letra(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: elttre,letre,letrte,lettrre,llettre,ltetre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

elttre2letre1letrte2lettrre1llettre1ltetre2
Edit distance from "lettre"

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 "lettre"?
"lettre" is spelled L-E-T-T-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \lɛtʁ\.
What does "lettre" mean?
As a noun, "lettre" means: Chacun des caractères d’un alphabet représentant un son, voyelle ou consonne.
What words are commonly confused with "lettre"?
"lettre" is commonly confused with "lutte", "litre", "lèvre". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lettre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lettre" is \lɛtʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "lettre" come from?
"lettre" 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 “lettre”

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

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