tourner

\tuʁ.ne\

/\tuʁ.ne\/ verb

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

The verdict

“tourner” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #1,758 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#1,758
frequency rank, French
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Mouvoir en rond, par un mouvement circulaire ou en ligne courbe, autour d’un axe de rotation.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

tourner vs Turner
71% similar
tourner vs tourte
71% similar
tourner vs tournoi
71% similar

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

Key facts for tourner
PropertyValue
Headwordtourner
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\tuʁ.ne\
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,758
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “tourner” 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). tourner 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 tourner is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \tuʁ.ne\. Corpus data places it at rank #1,758 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 24 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for tourner, with forms such as "oturner", "toruner", and "tounrer". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Turner", "tourte", "tournoi", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is tourner, spelled T-O-U-R-N-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mouvoir en rond, par un mouvement circulaire ou en ligne courbe, autour d’un axe de rotation.
  2. 2
    Décrire un mouvement circulaire autour de quelque chose ; contourner.
  3. 3
    Bouger ; diriger.
  4. 4
    Inverser, mouvoir en sens contraire. → voir retourner.
  5. 5
    Disposer autour de quelque chose.
  6. 6
    Changer de parti.
  7. 7
    Influencer, faire passer à une manière d’être différente. On dit plutôt aujourd’hui retourner.
  8. 8
    Transformer.
  9. 9
    Façonner au tour.
  10. 10
    Éviter ou éluder, en parlant d'une difficulté.
  11. 11
    Écrire en prose ou en vers en leur donnant un certain tour.
  12. 12
    Filmer ou participer à un film.
  13. 13
    Filmer.
  14. 14
    Se mouvoir en rond, circulairement.
  15. 15
    Se tordre.
  16. 16
    Se mouvoir dans une autre direction.
  17. 17
    Aller et venir, errer.
  18. 18
    Donner le tournis.
  19. 19
    Être disposé en cercle.
  20. 20
    Devenir fou.
  21. 21
    Changer, transformer.
  22. 22
    Changer de façon imprévue.
  23. 23
    S’altérer ; changer en mal.
  24. 24
    Pour un programme, être en cours d’exécution.

This word in other languages

turn(English)girar(Español)umschlagen(Deutsch)ligar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: oturner,toruner,tounrer,tourenr,tournerr,tournner,tournre,tourrner,ttourner,tuorner

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

oturner2toruner2tounrer2tourenr2tournerr1tournner1tournre2tourrner1
Edit distance from "tourner"

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 "tourner"?
"tourner" is spelled T-O-U-R-N-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \tuʁ.ne\.
What does "tourner" mean?
As a verb, "tourner" means: Mouvoir en rond, par un mouvement circulaire ou en ligne courbe, autour d’un axe de rotation.
What words are commonly confused with "tourner"?
"tourner" is commonly confused with "Turner", "tourte", "tournoi". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tourner"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tourner" is \tuʁ.ne\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tourner" come from?
"tourner" 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 “tourner”

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

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