chatonner

\ʃa.tɔ.ne\

/\ʃa.tɔ.ne\/ verb

The verdict

“chatonner” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Faire tenir par un chaton.

Corpus desk

Index FR-chatonner · chatonner · French

chatonner · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for chatonner
PropertyValue
Headwordchatonner
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\ʃa.tɔ.ne\
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « chatonner » en français

chatonnersiège au-delà des 100.000 formes les plus fréquentes du français, dans la traîne du lexique spécialisé ou peu usité.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

chatonner is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \ʃa.tɔ.ne\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for chatonner in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

No borrowing history is documented 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 chatonner, spelled C-H-A-T-O-N-N-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Faire tenir par un chaton.
  2. 2
    Faire tenir à la manière d’un chaton.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. En effet, lorsqu’un calcul présente un gros volume et que la surface en est couverte d’aspérités, […] il irrite les parties sur lesquelles il repose habituellement, et finit par y provoquer des contractions assez fortes et assez permanentes pour que les tuniques resserrées à demeure sur lui, l’embrassent, le chatonnent, et lui donnent une disposition anal…

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

How do you spell "chatonner"?
"chatonner" is spelled C-H-A-T-O-N-N-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \ʃa.tɔ.ne\.
What does "chatonner" mean?
As a verb, "chatonner" means: Faire tenir par un chaton.
How do you pronounce "chatonner"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chatonner" is \ʃa.tɔ.ne\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "chatonner" come from?
"chatonner" 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list