vivre

Name: vivre, French Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

\vivʁ\

/\vivʁ\/ verb

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“vivre” is in the everyday core of French, ranked #515 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#515
frequency rank, French: 5
letters: 7
tracked misspellings: 20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Être doué de vie, être en vie.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

vivre vs votre

60% similar

vivre vs voire

60% similar

vivre vs vivres

83% similar

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

Key facts for vivre
Property	Value
Headword	vivre
Language	French
Part of speech	Verb
IPA	\vivʁ\
Letters	5
Frequency rank	#515
Misspellings tracked	7
Confusable pairs	20
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “vivre” 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). vivre lands here:

#515

#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 vivre is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \vivʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #515 in overall French word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 18 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for vivre, with forms such as "ivvre", "virve", and "viver". 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, "votre", "voire", "vivres", 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, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is vivre, spelled V-I-V-R-E.

Definition

1
Être doué de vie, être en vie.
2
Dérouler le cours de sa vie.
3
Se développer, respirer, grandir, pour un organisme biologique.
4
Employer utilement sa vie, jouir de la vie.
5
Connaître une vie spirituelle ou mystique en religion.
6
Être fourni des moyens de subsister, de se soutenir.
7
Faire des dépenses, pour sa table, pour ses vêtements, etc., mener un train de vie.
8
Passer sa vie selon les divers états que l’on embrasse, les différents lieux que l’on habite, dans une situation heureuse ou malheureuse, etc.
9
Être soumis au gouvernement politique, aux lois, aux usages du pays dans lequel on demeure.
10
Se sentir et s’éprouver soi-même en tout point de son être.
11
Durer, subsister, passer à la postérité.
12
Se nourrir ; s’alimenter.
13
Se conduire, se comporter bien ou mal, eu égard à la morale, à la religion.
14
Être en commerce, partager la vie de quelqu’un.
15
Être avec quelqu’un dans un état de concubinage, cohabiter.
16
Le subjonctif s’emploie comme formule d’acclamation.
17
Marque l’estime qu’on porte envers quelque chose.
18
Traverser (une expérience).

This word in other languages

live(English)vivir(Español)leben(Deutsch)viver(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ivvre,virve,viver,vivrre,vivvre,vvire,vvivre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of vivre - 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.

Edit distance from "vivre"

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 "vivre"?

"vivre" is spelled V-I-V-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \vivʁ\.

What does "vivre" mean?

As a verb, "vivre" means: Être doué de vie, être en vie.

What words are commonly confused with "vivre"?

"vivre" is commonly confused with "votre", "voire", "vivres". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "vivre"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vivre" is \vivʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What language does "vivre" come from?

"vivre" 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 “vivre”

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

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