pilier

\pi.lje\

/\pi.lje\/ noun

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

The verdict

“pilier” has 8 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #10,378. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,378
frequency rank, French
6,826
“P” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Ouvrage de maçonnerie en forme de grosse colonne ronde, carrée, etc., qui sert à soutenir un édifice ou quelque partie d’un édifice.

Corpus desk

Index FR-pilier · pilier · French

pilier · rank #10,378 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,378
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,826
  • PHOTO-FINISH pH

Nearest frequency peer: pH (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « pilier »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « pilier » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

pilier vs plie
67% similar
pilier vs pitié
50% similar
pilier vs prier
67% similar

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

Key facts for pilier
PropertyValue
Headwordpilier
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pi.lje\
Letters6
Frequency rank#10,378
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « pilier »

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).pilierse place ici:

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

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « pH » (#10,377), « pilotage » (#10,379), « pesticides » (#10,376). Parmi 6,826 lemmes en « P », « pilier » est au #10,378. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around pilier (IPA \pi.lje\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,378 among 6,826 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for pilier, with forms such as "iplier", "piiler", and "pileir". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "plie", "pitié", "prier", 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 its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is pilier, spelled P-I-L-I-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ouvrage de maçonnerie en forme de grosse colonne ronde, carrée, etc., qui sert à soutenir un édifice ou quelque partie d’un édifice.
  2. 2
    Pile, empilement.
  3. 3
    Poteau de justice ; fourches patibulaires.
  4. 4
    Poteaux qu’on met dans les écuries, pour séparer les places des chevaux les unes des autres, poteau entre lesquels on met un cheval dans un manège, pour commencer à le dresser.
  5. 5
    Soutien.
  6. 6
    Sorte de petite colonne qui, dans les montres et dans les pendules, tient les platines éloignées l’une de l’autre à une égale distance.
  7. 7
    Type de joueur qui doit pousser directement l’adversaire à l’extrémité de la mêlée, et qui porte en général le numéro 1 pour le pilier gauche, et 3 pour le droit.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how pilier appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Les filaos géants, à l'écorce rugueuse et noire, étaient très nombreux et s'élevaient vers la voûte de feuillage comme des piliers de cathédrale.
  2. Piliers des voûtes, des arcades.

This word in other languages

pillar(English)pilar(Español)Pfeiler(Deutsch)pilar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • iplier
  • piiler
  • pileir
  • pilierr
  • pilire
  • pillier
  • pliier
  • ppilier

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pilier - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

iplier2piiler2pileir2pilierr1pilire2pillier1pliier2ppilier1
Edit distance from "pilier"

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 "pilier"?
"pilier" is spelled P-I-L-I-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \pi.lje\.
What does "pilier" mean?
As a noun, "pilier" means: Ouvrage de maçonnerie en forme de grosse colonne ronde, carrée, etc., qui sert à soutenir un édifice ou quelque partie d’un édifice.
What words are commonly confused with "pilier"?
"pilier" is commonly confused with "plie", "pitié", "prier". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pilier"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pilier" is \pi.lje\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pilier" come from?
"pilier" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "pilier", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pleuré#10,380paysan#10,373partez#10,370parier#10,369

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

menés8 variantsmanoir8 variantssenior8 variantstomate8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list