nuire

\nɥiʁ\

/\nɥiʁ\/ verb

The verdict

“nuire” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #7,468 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#7,468
frequency rank, French
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Causer du tort ; porter dommage à quelque chose ou à quelqu’un.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

nuire vs nuit
60% similar
nuire vs nulle
60% similar
nuire vs nuits
60% similar

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

Key facts for nuire
PropertyValue
Headwordnuire
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\nɥiʁ\
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,468
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “nuire” 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). nuire 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 nuire is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \nɥiʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #7,468 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Causer du tort ; porter dommage à quelque chose ou à quelqu’un.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for nuire, with forms such as "niure", "nnuire", and "nuier". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "nuit", "nulle", "nuits", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is nuire, spelled N-U-I-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Causer du tort ; porter dommage à quelque chose ou à quelqu’un.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: niure,nnuire,nuier,nuirre,nurie,unire

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

niure2nnuire1nuier2nuirre1nurie2unire2
Edit distance from "nuire"

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 "nuire"?
"nuire" is spelled N-U-I-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \nɥiʁ\.
What does "nuire" mean?
As a verb, "nuire" means: Causer du tort ; porter dommage à quelque chose ou à quelqu’un.
What words are commonly confused with "nuire"?
"nuire" is commonly confused with "nuit", "nulle", "nuits". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nuire"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nuire" is \nɥiʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "nuire" come from?
"nuire" 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 “nuire”

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

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