tartre

\taʁtʁ\

/\taʁtʁ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“tartre” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #48,823 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#48,823
frequency rank, French
6
letters
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Dépôt terreux et salin, produit dans les tonneaux par la fermentation du vin, qui s’attache aux douves, s’y durcit et se forme en croûte et qui est constitué par du bitartrate de potassium.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

tartre vs terre
67% similar
tartre vs titre
67% similar
tartre vs torre
67% similar

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

Key facts for tartre
PropertyValue
Headwordtartre
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\taʁtʁ\
Letters6
Frequency rank#48,823
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tartre” 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). tartre 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 tartre is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \taʁtʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #48,823 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for tartre, with forms such as "atrtre", "tarrtre", and "tarter". 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, "terre", "titre", "torre", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored 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 tartre, spelled T-A-R-T-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Dépôt terreux et salin, produit dans les tonneaux par la fermentation du vin, qui s’attache aux douves, s’y durcit et se forme en croûte et qui est constitué par du bitartrate de potassium.
  2. 2
    Dépôt calcaire issu de la précipitation des minéraux contenus dans l’eau sous l’effet de la chaleur.
  3. 3
    Dépôt composé de sels minéraux (carbonate et phosphate) mêles à des débris bactériens, salivaires et alimentaires. qui se dépose à la surface des dents.
  4. 4
    Sel de l'acide tartrique.

This word in other languages

tartar(English)tártaro(Español)Weinstein(Deutsch)tártaro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: atrtre,tarrtre,tarter,tartrre,tarttre,tatrre,tratre,ttartre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tartre - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

atrtre2tarrtre1tarter2tartrre1tarttre1tatrre2tratre2ttartre1
Edit distance from "tartre"

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 "tartre"?
"tartre" is spelled T-A-R-T-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \taʁtʁ\.
What does "tartre" mean?
As a noun, "tartre" means: Dépôt terreux et salin, produit dans les tonneaux par la fermentation du vin, qui s’attache aux douves, s’y durcit et se forme en croûte et qui est constitué par du bitartrate de potassium.
What words are commonly confused with "tartre"?
"tartre" is commonly confused with "terre", "titre", "torre". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tartre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tartre" is \taʁtʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tartre" come from?
"tartre" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “tartre”

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

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