zèbre

\zɛbʁ\

/\zɛbʁ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“zèbre” has 8 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #30,434. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,434
frequency rank, French
39,292
“Z” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Mammifère sauvage d'Afrique de la famille des équidés, voisin de l’âne, à robe jaunâtre rayée de bandes brunes, à la crinière en brosse et à l'allure très rapide.

Corpus desk

Index FR-zebre · zèbre · French

zèbre · rank #30,434 · 8 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,434
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 39,292
  • PHOTO-FINISH Zeitung

Nearest frequency peer: Zeitung (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “zèbre”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “zèbre” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

zèbre vs zee
40% similar
zèbre vs zéro
40% similar
zèbre vs zèle
60% similar

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

Key facts for zèbre
PropertyValue
Headwordzèbre
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\zɛbʁ\
Letters5
Frequency rank#30,434
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “zèbre” 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). zèbre lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around zèbre (IPA \zɛbʁ\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #30,434 among 39,292 “Z” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for zèbre, with forms such as "zbère", "zebre", and "zzèbre". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "zee", "zéro", "zèle", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is zèbre, spelled Z-È-B-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mammifère sauvage d'Afrique de la famille des équidés, voisin de l’âne, à robe jaunâtre rayée de bandes brunes, à la crinière en brosse et à l'allure très rapide.
  2. 2
    Cheval.
  3. 3
    Individu, type.
  4. 4
    Pitre, clown.
  5. 5
    Nom donné à deux poissons à livrée rayée, l’un du genre chétodon, l’autre du genre pleuronecte.
  6. 6
    Coquillage voisin du casque.

This word in other languages

zebra(English)cebra(Español)Zebra(Deutsch)zebra(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • zbère
  • zebre
  • zzèbre
  • zèbbre
  • zèber
  • zèbrre
  • zèrbe
  • èzbre

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

zbère2zebre1zzèbre1zèbbre1zèber2zèbrre1zèrbe2èzbre2
Edit distance from "zèbre"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "zèbre"?
"zèbre" is spelled Z-È-B-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \zɛbʁ\.
What does "zèbre" mean?
As a noun, "zèbre" means: Mammifère sauvage d'Afrique de la famille des équidés, voisin de l’âne, à robe jaunâtre rayée de bandes brunes, à la crinière en brosse et à l'allure très rapide.
What words are commonly confused with "zèbre"?
"zèbre" is commonly confused with "zee", "zéro", "zèle". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "zèbre"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "zèbre" is \zɛbʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "zèbre" come from?
"zèbre" 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 "zèbre", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

ébène#30,435while#30,430vizir#30,427astro#30,477

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Varane8 variantsangine8 variantsTrauma8 variantstordue8 variants
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