nerve

\nɛʁv\

/\nɛʁv\/ verb

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

The verdict

“nerve” is uncommon French (frequency #75,941 among 86,328 “N” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,941
frequency rank, French
86,328
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de nerver.

Key facts for nerve
PropertyValue
Headwordnerve
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\nɛʁv\
Letters5
Frequency rank#75,941
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “nerve” 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). nerve lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

nerve is uncommon French at frequency #75,941 among 86,328 “N” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed \nɛʁv\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for nerve, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is nerve, spelled N-E-R-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de nerver.
  2. 2
    Troisième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de nerver.
  3. 3
    Première personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de nerver.
  4. 4
    Troisième personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de nerver.
  5. 5
    Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif de nerver.

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 "nerve"?
"nerve" is spelled N-E-R-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is \nɛʁv\.
What does "nerve" mean?
As a verb, "nerve" means: Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de nerver.
How do you pronounce "nerve"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nerve" is \nɛʁv\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nerve" come from?
"nerve" 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 “nerve”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is N-E-R-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \nɛʁv\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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