tendre
\tɑ̃dʁ\
The verdict
“tendre” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #4,999 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #4,999
- frequency rank, French
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui peut aisément être entamé.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | tendre |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | \tɑ̃dʁ\ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #4,999 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “tendre” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for tendre is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \tɑ̃dʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #4,999 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 10 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 tendre, with forms such as "etndre", "tednre", and "tenddre". 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, "terre", "tenir", "tente", 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 best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is tendre, spelled T-E-N-D-R-E.
Definition
- 1Qui peut aisément être entamé.
- 2Qualifie les aliments qui n’offrent pas de résistance quand on les coupe, quand on les mâche.
- 3Qualifie également du pain nouvellement cuit.
- 4Qui est sensible, délicat, qui est aisément pénétré par les impressions extérieures.
- 5Délicat et faible, en parlant de la vue, des yeux.
- 6Qui a de la tendresse, qui est sensible à l’amitié, à la compassion, et plus particulièrement à l’amour.
- 7Qualifie les choses où se marque de l’amitié, de la compassion, où se manifeste de l’amour.
- 8Qualifie une couleur délicate, qui ne fatigue pas la vue.
- 9Qualifie un son de voix touchant et gracieux.
- 10Qualifie un air touchant et passionné.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: etndre,tednre,tenddre,tendrre,tenndre,tenrde,tnedre,ttendre
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tendre - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "tendre"?
What does "tendre" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "tendre"?
How do you pronounce "tendre"?
What language does "tendre" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “tendre”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is T-E-N-D-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \tɑ̃dʁ\ (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. tendre 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.