rude
French, adjective/ʁyd/
rude is spelled R-U-D-E (4 letters) and appears 7.8 times per million words in written French, the 8,090th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Rude is a French adjective meaning “rough, harsh” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Âpre au toucher ; brut ; dur”.
What does rude mean in English?
adjective
- 1
rough, harsh
March 28 1757, Robert-François Damiens, facing a horrific execution "La journée sera rude." ("The day will be rough.")
- 2
tough, hard; severe
- 3
bitter, harsh, sharp (of weather)
- 4
crude, unpolished
- 5
hardy, tough, rugged
- 6
informalformidable, fearsome
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. Âpre au toucher ; brut ; dur. 2. Âpre au goût ; corsé. 3. Raboteux. 4. Pénible ; fatigant.
noun: 1. Synonyme de lactaire délicieux (espèce de champignons).
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of rude
- rudes plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce rude?
- /ʁyd/
- \ʁyd\
- [ʁyd]
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to rude
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is rude in French?
rude appears 7.8 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).