mer

\mɛʁ\

/\mɛʁ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“mer” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #657 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#657
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Vaste étendue d’eau salée qui baigne les diverses parties de la terre.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

mer vs mm
33% similar
mer vs mi
33% similar
mer vs MR
0% similar

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

Key facts for mer
PropertyValue
Headwordmer
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\mɛʁ\
Letters3
Frequency rank#657
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mer” 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). mer 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 mer is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \mɛʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #657 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No generated misspelling entries exist for mer in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "mm", "mi", "MR", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is mer, spelled M-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Vaste étendue d’eau salée qui baigne les diverses parties de la terre.
  2. 2
    Son état pour la navigation.
  3. 3
    Grande étendue de liquide.
  4. 4
    Vaste étendue.
  5. 5
    Meuble représentant une étendue liquide dans les armoiries. Il s’agit d'une zone colorée couvrant le tiers inférieur du champ (donc mouvant de la pointe) avec une ligne de découpe supérieure ondée rappelant les vagues ainsi que d’ombrages ou lignes également ondées sur la zone colorée. On la dit ombrée quand les vagues sont représentées d’un autre émail.
  6. 6
    Plaine basaltique grande et sombre de la Lune.

Antonyms

terre

This word in other languages

sea(English)mar(Español)Meer(Deutsch)mar(Português)

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 "mer"?
"mer" is spelled M-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \mɛʁ\.
What does "mer" mean?
As a noun, "mer" means: Vaste étendue d’eau salée qui baigne les diverses parties de la terre.
What words are commonly confused with "mer"?
"mer" is commonly confused with "mm", "mi", "MR". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mer"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mer" is \mɛʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "mer" come from?
"mer" 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 “mer”

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

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