noyau

\nwa.jo\

/\nwa.jo\/ noun

The verdict

“noyau” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #6,118 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#6,118
frequency rank, French
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Partie centrale, dure, d’une drupe et qui contient une amande. On oppose le noyau au pépin de la baie.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

noyau vs noyé
60% similar
noyau vs noyer
60% similar
noyau vs noyés
60% similar

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

Key facts for noyau
PropertyValue
Headwordnoyau
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\nwa.jo\
Letters5
Frequency rank#6,118
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “noyau” 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). noyau 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 noyau is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \nwa.jo\. Corpus data places it at rank #6,118 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 21 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 noyau, with forms such as "nnoyau", "noayu", and "noyua". 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 16 confusable-pair relationships, "noyé", "noyer", "noyés", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is noyau, spelled N-O-Y-A-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    Partie centrale, dure, d’une drupe et qui contient une amande. On oppose le noyau au pépin de la baie.
  2. 2
    Eau de noyau ; liqueur dans la préparation de laquelle entrent des noyaux.
  3. 3
    Partie centrale située au milieu d’un autre objet, centre, cœur, ossature.
  4. 4
    Substance moulée et durcie dans l’intérieur d’une coquille pétrifiée.
  5. 5
    Partie la plus dure qui se trouve au centre de certains cailloux.
  6. 6
    Partie centrale d’un cristal, dont la forme diffère souvent beaucoup de celle du cristal lui-même.
  7. 7
    Partie plus ou moins brute et massive qui est enveloppée d’un revêtement.
  8. 8
    Organite présent dans la majorité des cellules eucaryotes, et contenant, pour la plupart, le matériel génétique de la cellule.
  9. 9
    Partie centrale d’un atome, composée de nucléons (protons et neutrons) autour desquels évoluent des électrons.
  10. 10
    Partie centrale d'une molécule aromatique.
  11. 11
    Partie centrale d’un système d’exploitation → voir noyau de système d’exploitation
  12. 12
    Partie centrale la plus dense d’un corps céleste.
  13. 13
    Partie magnétique d'un électroaimant.
  14. 14
    Masse de terre à potier, de plâtre, de brique, ou d’autre matière, qui remplit l’intérieur d’un moule et qui est destinée à soutenir la cire que doit remplacer le métal en fusion.
  15. 15
    Origine, fonds ou commencement d’une société politique ou civile, d’une compagnie littéraire ou scientifique, d’un corps militaire ou d’un groupement d’hommes.
  16. 16
    Sous-ensemble de l’ensemble de définition d’une application linéaire dont les éléments ont pour image l’élément neutre.
  17. 17
    Sous-graphe à la fois stable et absorbant.
  18. 18
    Pilier central d’appui d’une voûte ou d’un escalier sans jour.
  19. 19
    Élément central d’un syntagme.
  20. 20
    Dans le vocabulaire du commerce international, liste irréductible de produits contingentés.
  21. 21
    En théorie économique, espace limité d’un ensemble où s’appliquent intégralement et sûrement certaines propriétés.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: nnoyau,noayu,noyua,noyyau,nyoau,onyau

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

nnoyau1noayu2noyua2noyyau1nyoau2onyau2
Edit distance from "noyau"

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 "noyau"?
"noyau" is spelled N-O-Y-A-U. The IPA pronunciation is \nwa.jo\.
What does "noyau" mean?
As a noun, "noyau" means: Partie centrale, dure, d’une drupe et qui contient une amande. On oppose le noyau au pépin de la baie.
What words are commonly confused with "noyau"?
"noyau" is commonly confused with "noyé", "noyer", "noyés". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "noyau"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "noyau" is \nwa.jo\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "noyau" come from?
"noyau" 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 “noyau”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is N-O-Y-A-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \nwa.jo\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “noyé” - see the side-by-side comparison. noyau vs noyé
  • 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