rete

\ˈre.te\

/\ˈre.te\/ verb

The verdict

“rete” is uncommon French (frequency #95,249 among 507,453 “R” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#95,249
frequency rank, French
507,453
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Première personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de retar.

Key facts for rete
PropertyValue
Headwordrete
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ˈre.te\
Letters4
Frequency rank#95,249
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “rete” 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). rete lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

rete is uncommon French at frequency #95,249 among 507,453 “R” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed \ˈre.te\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

rete doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is rete, spelled R-E-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Première personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de retar.
  2. 2
    Troisième personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de retar.
  3. 3
    Troisième personne du singulier de l’impératif de retar.

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 "rete"?
"rete" is spelled R-E-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈre.te\.
What does "rete" mean?
As a verb, "rete" means: Première personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de retar.
How do you pronounce "rete"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rete" is \ˈre.te\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "rete" come from?
"rete" 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.

Using “rete”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is R-E-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ˈre.te\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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