route

\ʁut\

/\ʁut\/ noun

The verdict

“route” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #562 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#562
frequency rank, French
5
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Voie praticable par les voitures en dehors des agglomérations.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

route vs rue
60% similar
route vs rte
60% similar
route vs roux
60% similar

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

Key facts for route
PropertyValue
Headwordroute
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ʁut\
Letters5
Frequency rank#562
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “route” 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). route 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 route is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ʁut\. Corpus data places it at rank #562 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for route, with forms such as "orute", "rotue", and "routte". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "rue", "rte", "roux", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is route, spelled R-O-U-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Voie praticable par les voitures en dehors des agglomérations.
  2. 2
    Ensemble de ces voies.
  3. 3
    Le transport sur route.
  4. 4
    Grande allée percée dans un bois, dans une forêt, pour la commodité du charroi, de la chasse, de la promenade, etc.
  5. 5
    Direction qu’on suit ou qu’on peut suivre, par terre, par mer (cap) ou par les airs, pour aller en quelque lieu.
  6. 6
    Déplacement en vue d'une destination. → voir en route et faire route
  7. 7
    (Au singulier, précédé de l'article défini la) Action de voyager sur les routes, indépendamment de la destination.
  8. 8
    Parcours des astres, des eaux, etc., se dirigeant d’un point vers un autre.
  9. 9
    Conduite qu’on tient pour arriver à quelque fin, les moyens qui y mènent.
  10. 10
    Plante médicinale ; rue fétide.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: orute,rotue,routte,rroute,ruote

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

orute2rotue2routte1rroute1ruote2
Edit distance from "route"

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 "route"?
"route" is spelled R-O-U-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ʁut\.
What does "route" mean?
As a noun, "route" means: Voie praticable par les voitures en dehors des agglomérations.
What words are commonly confused with "route"?
"route" is commonly confused with "rue", "rte", "roux". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "route"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "route" is \ʁut\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "route" come from?
"route" 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 “route”

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

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