cerf-volant
\sɛʁ.vɔ.lɑ̃\
The verdict
“cerf-volant” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Engin volant sans pilote ni passager qui tient en l’air grâce à la force de pression que le vent exerce sur la surface de sa voilure et qui est manœuvré ou simplement peut aussi etre rattaché au so...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cerf-volant |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \sɛʁ.vɔ.lɑ̃\ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cerf-volant” sits in French frequency
Rare enough to double-check
cerf-volant is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \sɛʁ.vɔ.lɑ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for cerf-volant in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is cerf-volant, spelled C-E-R-F---V-O-L-A-N-T.
Definition
- 1Engin volant sans pilote ni passager qui tient en l’air grâce à la force de pression que le vent exerce sur la surface de sa voilure et qui est manœuvré ou simplement peut aussi etre rattaché au sol à l’aide d’un ou plusieurs fils, traditionnellement fait avec de l’étoffe ou du papier étendu et collé sur des baguettes.
- 2Forme géométrique ressemblant à un cerf-volant ; les deux définitions suivantes sont équivalentes :
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “cerf-volant”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is C-E-R-F---V-O-L-A-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \sɛʁ.vɔ.lɑ̃\ (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.