ras

\ʁa\

/\ʁa\/ adj

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

The verdict

“ras” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #6,546 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#6,546
frequency rank, French
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui a le poil très court, coupé tout près de la peau, en parlant d’un être vivant.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

ras vs Re
0% similar
ras vs Rh
0% similar
ras vs RT
0% similar

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

Key facts for ras
PropertyValue
Headwordras
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ʁa\
Letters3
Frequency rank#6,546
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ras” 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). ras 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 ras is 3 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ʁa\. Corpus data places it at rank #6,546 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

ras has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Re", "Rh", "RT", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is ras, spelled R-A-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui a le poil très court, coupé tout près de la peau, en parlant d’un être vivant.
  2. 2
    Dont le poil est très court, en parlant de textiles, peaux, etc.
  3. 3
    Parfaitement uni, sans creux ni bosse.
  4. 4
    Qualifie une campagne plate, unie, qui n’est coupée ni d’éminences, ni de vallées, ni de bois, ni de rivières.
  5. 5
    Qui est près du sol.
  6. 6
    Qualifie un bâtiment qui est peu élevé au-dessus de l’eau ou dont on a supprimé les mâts.
  7. 7
    Qualifie une mesure remplie de manière que le grain, la farine, etc., n’excède pas les bords.

This word in other languages

flach(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 "ras"?
"ras" is spelled R-A-S. The IPA pronunciation is \ʁa\.
What does "ras" mean?
As an adjective, "ras" means: Qui a le poil très court, coupé tout près de la peau, en parlant d’un être vivant.
What words are commonly confused with "ras"?
"ras" is commonly confused with "Re", "Rh", "RT". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ras"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ras" is \ʁa\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ras" come from?
"ras" 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 “ras”

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

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