colin

\kɔ.lɛ̃\

/\kɔ.lɛ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“colin” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #8,822 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#8,822
frequency rank, French
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Nom vernaculaire ambigu donné vulgairement à plusieurs genres de poissons osseux de l'ordre des gadiformes, dont les différentes espèces de lieu (Theragra spp. et Pollachius spp.) et le merlu commu...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

colin vs con
60% similar
colin vs coll
60% similar
colin vs cols
60% similar

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

Key facts for colin
PropertyValue
Headwordcolin
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kɔ.lɛ̃\
Letters5
Frequency rank#8,822
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “colin” 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). colin 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 colin is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \kɔ.lɛ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #8,822 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for colin, with forms such as "ccolin", "cloin", and "coiln". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "con", "coll", "cols", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is colin, spelled C-O-L-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nom vernaculaire ambigu donné vulgairement à plusieurs genres de poissons osseux de l'ordre des gadiformes, dont les différentes espèces de lieu (Theragra spp. et Pollachius spp.) et le merlu commun (Merlucchius merlucchius), et à deux genres de poissons de l'ordre des perciformes (Dissostichus et Notothenia).
  2. 2
    Nom que l'on donne tout particulièrement au lieu noir dans certaines régions, et quand il est commercialisé sous forme surgelée ou en conserve sous l'appellation de colin lieu.
  3. 3
    Nom normalisé donné à huit genres regroupant 17 espèces d'oiseaux galliformes de la famille des odontophoridés, au plumage bigarré, souvent pourvus d'une huppe caractéristique, habitant les savanes, les prairies ou les forêts montagneuses clairsemées des zones tempérées, subtropicales et tropicales s'étendant des États-Unis jusqu'à la partie septentrionale de l'Amérique du Sud.
  4. 4
    Un des anciens noms vernaculaires du grand labbe (Stercorarius skua), un grand oiseau charadriiforme de la famille des stercorariidés.
  5. 5
    Berger jeune et amoureux dans les opéras-comiques.

Synonyms

lieumerlumerlu communlieu noircolin lieucolin-lieucaniardcaniartgoéland variégrand labbegrisardgrisartskuaamant

This word in other languages

pollock(English)carbonero(Español)Seehecht(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccolin,cloin,coiln,colinn,colni,oclin

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of colin - 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.

ccolin1cloin2coiln2colinn1colni2oclin2
Edit distance from "colin"

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 "colin"?
"colin" is spelled C-O-L-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is \kɔ.lɛ̃\.
What does "colin" mean?
As a noun, "colin" means: Nom vernaculaire ambigu donné vulgairement à plusieurs genres de poissons osseux de l'ordre des gadiformes, dont les différentes espèces de lieu (Theragra spp. et Pollachius spp.) et le merlu commu...
What words are commonly confused with "colin"?
"colin" is commonly confused with "con", "coll", "cols". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "colin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "colin" is \kɔ.lɛ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "colin" come from?
"colin" 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.

Using “colin”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is C-O-L-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \kɔ.lɛ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “con” - see the side-by-side comparison. colin vs con
  • 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