virus

\vi.ʁys\

/\vi.ʁys\/ noun

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

The verdict

“virus” has 7 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #3,114. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,114
frequency rank, French
2,061
“V” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Entité biologique qui nécessite une cellule hôte, dont il utilise les constituants pour se multiplier.

Corpus desk

Index FR-virus · virus · French

virus · rank #3,114 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,114
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,061
  • PHOTO-FINISH ventre

Nearest frequency peer: ventre (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « virus »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « virus » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

virus vs vis
60% similar
virus vs vus
60% similar
virus vs vous
60% similar

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

Key facts for virus
PropertyValue
Headwordvirus
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\vi.ʁys\
Letters5
Frequency rank#3,114
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « virus »

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.virusse place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « ventre » (#3,113), « voler » (#3,115), « utilisant » (#3,112). Parmi 2,061 lemmes en « V », « virus » est au #3,114. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around virus (IPA \vi.ʁys\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,114 among 2,061 “V” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for virus, with forms such as "ivrus", "virrus", and "virsu". 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, "vis", "vus", "vous", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is virus, spelled V-I-R-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Entité biologique qui nécessite une cellule hôte, dont il utilise les constituants pour se multiplier.
  2. 2
    Venin des maux vénériens.
  3. 3
    Toxine, substance organique agent de contagion des maladies infectieuses.
  4. 4
    Germe pathogène en général.
  5. 5
    Agent contaminant notamment en informatique.
  6. 6
    Agent contaminant notamment en informatique.
  7. 7
    Idée dangereuse qui se répand.
  8. 8
    Grand intérêt ; passion.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how virus appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. La plaie doit faire immédiatement l’objet d’un lavage prolongé à l’eau et au savon, ce qui permettra d’éliminer la salive, de diluer le virus et de détruire son pouvoir infectieux par l’effet virocide du savon.
  2. Étant donné la simplicité de leur constitution, réduite le plus souvent à un simple support génétique, les virus ne peuvent se multiplier qu’en occupant les cellules vivantes d’organismes plus complexes dont ils « piratent » le métabolisme cellulaire à leur profit. Ainsi, le virus « ordonne » alors à la cellule qu’il a envahie de synthétiser de nombreuses…

Synonyms

ultravirusvirus informatique

This word in other languages

virus(English)virus(Español)Virus(Deutsch)vírus(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ivrus
  • virrus
  • virsu
  • viruss
  • viurs
  • vrius
  • vvirus

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ivrus2virrus1virsu2viruss1viurs2vrius2vvirus1
Edit distance from "virus"

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 "virus"?
"virus" is spelled V-I-R-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is \vi.ʁys\.
What does "virus" mean?
As a noun, "virus" means: Entité biologique qui nécessite une cellule hôte, dont il utilise les constituants pour se multiplier.
What words are commonly confused with "virus"?
"virus" is commonly confused with "vis", "vus", "vous". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "virus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "virus" is \vi.ʁys\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "virus" come from?
"virus" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "virus", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

voler#3,115thèse#3,109culte#3,131digne#3,134

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

accusé7 variantsappels7 variantsrappel7 variantsliées7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list