Welle

\ˈvɛlə\

/\ˈvɛlə\/ noun

The verdict

“Welle” is uncommon French (frequency #87,255 among 549 “W” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#87,255
frequency rank, French
549
“W” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Vague : ondulation à la surface d’un liquide.

Corpus desk

Index FR-welle · Welle · French

Welle · rank #87,255 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #87,255
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 549
  • PHOTO-FINISH warrants

Nearest frequency peer: warrants (-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.

Rangs de longue queue près de « Welle »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « Welle » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Welle
PropertyValue
HeadwordWelle
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ˈvɛlə\
Letters5
Frequency rank#87,255
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « Welle » en français

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).Welletombe dans cette queue de rareté:

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

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Voisins rares de la même bande: « warrants » (#87,254), « whig » (#87,256), « whom » (#87,257). Parmi 549 lemmes en « W », « Welle » est au #87,255. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Welle is uncommon French at frequency #87,255 among 549 “W” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \ˈvɛlə\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 8 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for Welle in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is Welle, spelled W-E-L-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Vague : ondulation à la surface d’un liquide.
  2. 2
    Onde.
  3. 3
    Vague : mouvement, afflux.
  4. 4
    Ondulation : ce qui évoque une vague au sens 1, par exemple pour une chevelure.
  5. 5
    Ola : sorte de vague générée par le mouvement coordonné des spectateurs.
  6. 6
    Arbre.
  7. 7
    Fagot.
  8. 8
    Sorte de mouvement.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Der ins Wasser fallende Stein verursachte einige kleinere Wellen.
  2. Bei der Ausbreitung von elektromagnetischen Wellen unterscheidet man, ob man die Welle im sog. Nahfeld, also in unmittelbarer Nähe zur Quelle bzw. Antenne untersucht oder im Fernfeld, indem sich die Welle unabhängig von der Antenne als ebene Welle ausbreitet.

Synonyms

La OlaLa-Ola-WelleWasserwelleWoge

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 "Welle"?
"Welle" is spelled W-E-L-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈvɛlə\.
What does "Welle" mean?
As a noun, "Welle" means: Vague : ondulation à la surface d’un liquide.
How do you pronounce "Welle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Welle" is \ˈvɛlə\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Welle" come from?
"Welle" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "Welle", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list