pic

\pik\

/\pik\/ noun

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

The verdict

“pic” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #5,593 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#5,593
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Oiseau grimpeur se nourrissant de larves qu’il va chercher dans l’écorce en la frappant par des coups de bec répétés pour tester la résonance du bois (martèlement) ; communiquant également avec ses...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

pic vs pu
33% similar
pic vs PS
0% similar
pic vs PQ
0% similar

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

Key facts for pic
PropertyValue
Headwordpic
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pik\
Letters3
Frequency rank#5,593
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pic” 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). pic 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 pic is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pik\. Corpus data places it at rank #5,593 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for pic, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pu", "PS", "PQ", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is pic, spelled P-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Oiseau grimpeur se nourrissant de larves qu’il va chercher dans l’écorce en la frappant par des coups de bec répétés pour tester la résonance du bois (martèlement) ; communiquant également avec ses congénères par ce moyen (tambourinage) et creusant son nid dans un tronc d’arbre.
  2. 2
    Pivert.
  3. 3
    Nom normalisé donné à 26 genres comprenant 201 espèces d’oiseaux grimpeurs et insectivores de la famille des picidés (ordre des piciformes) caractérisés par leur aptitude à grimper le long du tronc des arbres à l’aide de leurs pattes zygodactyles, par leur bec droit et robuste avec lequel ils perforent l’écorce et le liber des arbres par tambourinage, en quête de larves d’insectes, de fourmis et autres insectes xylophages ou xylophiles, et par leur os hyoïde très long qui amarre leur très longue langue et qui aide à amortir les chocs répétitifs du bec contre l’arbre et protéger ainsi contre le stress crânien ; les picidés sont distribués partout dans le monde sauf en Australasie, à Madagascar et en Antarctique (genres principaux: Picus, Melanerpes, Celeus, Veniliornis, Campephilus, etc.).

This word in other languages

woodpecker(English)pájaro carpintero(Español)Specht(Deutsch)

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 "pic"?
"pic" is spelled P-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is \pik\.
What does "pic" mean?
As a noun, "pic" means: Oiseau grimpeur se nourrissant de larves qu’il va chercher dans l’écorce en la frappant par des coups de bec répétés pour tester la résonance du bois (martèlement) ; communiquant également avec ses...
What words are commonly confused with "pic"?
"pic" is commonly confused with "pu", "PS", "PQ". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pic" is \pik\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pic" come from?
"pic" 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 “pic”

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

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