colonie

\kɔ.lɔ.ni\

/\kɔ.lɔ.ni\/ noun

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

The verdict

“colonie” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #5,229 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#5,229
frequency rank, French
7
letters
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Population installée loin de son lieu d’origine pour y prospérer, et qui maintient des liens privilégiés avec la métropole.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

colonie vs colons
71% similar
colonie vs cookie
71% similar
colonie vs coloré
57% similar

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

Key facts for colonie
PropertyValue
Headwordcolonie
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kɔ.lɔ.ni\
Letters7
Frequency rank#5,229
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “colonie” 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). colonie 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 colonie is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \kɔ.lɔ.ni\. Corpus data places it at rank #5,229 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 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for colonie, with forms such as "ccolonie", "cloonie", and "collonie". 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, "colons", "cookie", "coloré", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is colonie, spelled C-O-L-O-N-I-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Population installée loin de son lieu d’origine pour y prospérer, et qui maintient des liens privilégiés avec la métropole.
  2. 2
    Établissement fondé dans une contrée séparée de la métropole et restant sous sa dépendance.
  3. 3
    Groupement nombreux de gens d'un même pays plus ou moins lointain, installés durablement et restant entre eux dans le pays d’accueil.
  4. 4
    Établissement pénitentiaire qui a pour but de rééduquer les détenus en les occupant à des travaux agricoles.
  5. 5
    Groupe d’organismes vivants de même espèce vivant ensemble. S’emploie en particulier pour les fourmis, termites, castors et bactéries.

This word in other languages

colony(English)colonia(Español)Kolonie(Deutsch)colónia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ccolonie,cloonie,collonie,colnoie,coloine,colonei,colonnie,coolnie,oclonie

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccolonie1cloonie2collonie1colnoie2coloine2colonei2colonnie1coolnie2
Edit distance from "colonie"

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 "colonie"?
"colonie" is spelled C-O-L-O-N-I-E. The IPA pronunciation is \kɔ.lɔ.ni\.
What does "colonie" mean?
As a noun, "colonie" means: Population installée loin de son lieu d’origine pour y prospérer, et qui maintient des liens privilégiés avec la métropole.
What words are commonly confused with "colonie"?
"colonie" is commonly confused with "colons", "cookie", "coloré". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "colonie"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "colonie" is \kɔ.lɔ.ni\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "colonie" come from?
"colonie" 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 “colonie”

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

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