codon

\kɔ.dɔ̃\

/\kɔ.dɔ̃\/ noun

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency French
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Triplet de nucléotides (adénine, cytosine, uracile ou guanine de l'acide ribonucléique messager) entrant dans la composition d'un acide nucléique, et désigné par les initiales des trois bases corre...

Corpus desk

Index FR-codon · codon · French

codon · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 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 codon
PropertyValue
Headwordcodon
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kɔ.dɔ̃\
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « codon » en français

codonsiège 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

codon is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \kɔ.dɔ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Triplet de nucléotides (adénine, cytosine, uracile ou guanine de l'acide ribonucléique messager) entrant dans la composition d'un acide nucléique, et désigné par les initiales des trois bases corre...".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for codon, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, 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 codon, spelled C-O-D-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Triplet de nucléotides (adénine, cytosine, uracile ou guanine de l'acide ribonucléique messager) entrant dans la composition d'un acide nucléique, et désigné par les initiales des trois bases correspondantes (bases puriques ou pyrimidiques).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Depuis les borborygmes jusqu’aux hiéroglyphes, depuis les alphabets jusqu’aux octets, jusqu’aux codons, les transductions successives de la Words Words Words Inc. ne cessent de nous promettre à la décorporation finale dans le symbole.

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

How do you spell "codon"?
"codon" is spelled C-O-D-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \kɔ.dɔ̃\.
What does "codon" mean?
As a noun, "codon" means: Triplet de nucléotides (adénine, cytosine, uracile ou guanine de l'acide ribonucléique messager) entrant dans la composition d'un acide nucléique, et désigné par les initiales des trois bases corre...
How do you pronounce "codon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "codon" is \kɔ.dɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "codon" come from?
"codon" 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