carat

\ka.ʁa\

/\ka.ʁa\/ noun

The verdict

“carat” is an uncommon French word, ranked #51,945 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#51,945
frequency rank, French
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Unité de mesure de masse pour la pesée des diamants et des pierres précieuses, brutes ou taillées, valant exactement 0,2 gramme depuis sa métrification en 1907. Symbole : ct.

Key facts for carat
PropertyValue
Headwordcarat
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ka.ʁa\
Letters5
Frequency rank#51,945
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “carat” 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). carat lands here:

#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 carat is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ka.ʁa\. Corpus data places it at rank #51,945 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No generated misspelling entries exist for carat in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, 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 carat, spelled C-A-R-A-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Unité de mesure de masse pour la pesée des diamants et des pierres précieuses, brutes ou taillées, valant exactement 0,2 gramme depuis sa métrification en 1907. Symbole : ct.
  2. 2
    Vingt-quatrième partie d’or fin contenue dans un lingot d’or, elle-même subdivisée autrefois en 32 grains de fin. Symbole : ct, K ou k.
  3. 3
    Petits diamants qui se vendent au masse et qui ne dépassent guère la masse d'un carat.

This word in other languages

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 "carat"?
"carat" is spelled C-A-R-A-T. The IPA pronunciation is \ka.ʁa\.
What does "carat" mean?
As a noun, "carat" means: Unité de mesure de masse pour la pesée des diamants et des pierres précieuses, brutes ou taillées, valant exactement 0,2 gramme depuis sa métrification en 1907. Symbole : ct.
How do you pronounce "carat"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "carat" is \ka.ʁa\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "carat" come from?
"carat" 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.

Using “carat”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-A-R-A-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ka.ʁa\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list