rouage

\ʁwaʒ\

/\ʁwaʒ\/ noun

The verdict

“rouage” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #39,518 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#39,518
frequency rank, French
6
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Élément de roue.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

rouage vs roué
50% similar
rouage vs route
67% similar
rouage vs rouge
83% similar

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

Key facts for rouage
PropertyValue
Headwordrouage
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ʁwaʒ\
Letters6
Frequency rank#39,518
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “rouage” 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). rouage 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 rouage is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ʁwaʒ\. Corpus data places it at rank #39,518 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for rouage, with forms such as "oruage", "roauge", and "rouaeg". 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, "roué", "route", "rouge", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is rouage, spelled R-O-U-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Élément de roue.
  2. 2
    Chacune des pièces qui concourent au fonctionnement d’une machine.
  3. 3
    Mécanisme à fonctionnement régulier et prévisible.
  4. 4
    Chaque élément participant au fonctionnement d’un ensemble.
  5. 5
    Paiement de la location des places occupées dans les foires ou les marchés par les marchands étrangers.
  6. 6
    Péage pour circuler sur les routes.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: oruage,roauge,rouaeg,rouagge,rougae,rrouage,ruoage

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rouage - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

oruage2roauge2rouaeg2rouagge1rougae2rrouage1ruoage2
Edit distance from "rouage"

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 "rouage"?
"rouage" is spelled R-O-U-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ʁwaʒ\.
What does "rouage" mean?
As a noun, "rouage" means: Élément de roue.
What words are commonly confused with "rouage"?
"rouage" is commonly confused with "roué", "route", "rouge". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "rouage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rouage" is \ʁwaʒ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "rouage" come from?
"rouage" 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 “rouage”

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

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