canton
\kɑ̃.tɔ̃\
The verdict
“canton” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #5,013 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #5,013
- frequency rank, French
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Certaine partie d’un pays considérée comme distincte du reste de ce pays.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | canton |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \kɑ̃.tɔ̃\ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #5,013 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “canton” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for canton is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \kɑ̃.tɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #5,013 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for canton, with forms such as "acnton", "cannton", and "canotn". 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, "coton", "caron", "catin", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is canton, spelled C-A-N-T-O-N.
Definition
- 1Certaine partie d’un pays considérée comme distincte du reste de ce pays.
- 2Certaine partie d’un pays considérée comme distincte du reste de ce pays.
- 3Certaine partie d’un pays considérée comme distincte du reste de ce pays.
- 4Certaine partie d’un pays considérée comme distincte du reste de ce pays.
- 5Certaine partie d’un pays considérée comme distincte du reste de ce pays.
- 6Certaine partie d’un pays considérée comme distincte du reste de ce pays.
- 7Surface carrée positionnée par défaut au chef dextre de l’écu. La surface est généralement moindre que celle du franc-canton qui est lui-même moindre que le franc-quartier. Si sa position diffère de l’ordinaire, elle doit être blasonnée.
- 8Angle de l’écu où est positionné un meuble.
- 9Subdivision d’une voie ferrée servant au cantonnement, c'est-à-dire à la régulation de la circulation des trains.
- 10Section de route, généralement départementale ou communale, entretenue par un cantonnier.
- 11Quartier supérieur du guindant d’un drapeau ou pavillon. Il est donc situé contre la hampe.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: acnton,cannton,canotn,cantno,cantonn,cantton,catnon,ccanton,cnaton
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of canton - 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.
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 "canton"?
What does "canton" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “canton”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is C-A-N-T-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \kɑ̃.tɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “coton” - see the side-by-side comparison. canton vs coton
- 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.