citron

\si.tʁɔ̃\

/\si.tʁɔ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“citron” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #8,215 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#8,215
frequency rank, French
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Fruit du citronnier (Citrus × limon), de couleur jaune, à la peau rugueuse et de forme ovoïde. D’un goût acide, il est utilisé pressé dans de nombreuses boissons.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

citron vs coton
67% similar
citron vs cotton
67% similar
citron vs citrons
86% similar

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

Key facts for citron
PropertyValue
Headwordcitron
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\si.tʁɔ̃\
Letters6
Frequency rank#8,215
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “citron” 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). citron 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 citron is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \si.tʁɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #8,215 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 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 citron, with forms such as "ccitron", "cirton", and "citorn". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "coton", "cotton", "citrons", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is citron, spelled C-I-T-R-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Fruit du citronnier (Citrus × limon), de couleur jaune, à la peau rugueuse et de forme ovoïde. D’un goût acide, il est utilisé pressé dans de nombreuses boissons.
  2. 2
    Tête, cerveau.
  3. 3
    Grenade (engin explosif dont la forme peut rappeler un citron).
  4. 4
    Exemplaire particulièrement défectueux d’un objet de série, en particulier une automobile.
  5. 5
    Citronnade.
  6. 6
    Citronnier.
  7. 7
    Combava, le fruit comme l'arbre.

This word in other languages

lemon(English)limón(Español)Zitrone(Deutsch)limão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccitron,cirton,citorn,citrno,citronn,citrron,cittron,ctiron,ictron

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of citron - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ccitron1cirton2citorn2citrno2citronn1citrron1cittron1ctiron2
Edit distance from "citron"

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 "citron"?
"citron" is spelled C-I-T-R-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \si.tʁɔ̃\.
What does "citron" mean?
As a noun, "citron" means: Fruit du citronnier (Citrus × limon), de couleur jaune, à la peau rugueuse et de forme ovoïde. D’un goût acide, il est utilisé pressé dans de nombreuses boissons.
What words are commonly confused with "citron"?
"citron" is commonly confused with "coton", "cotton", "citrons". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "citron"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "citron" is \si.tʁɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "citron" come from?
"citron" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “citron”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-I-T-R-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \si.tʁɔ̃\ (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. citron 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.

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

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