flan

\flɑ̃\

/\flɑ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“flan” has 6 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #23,213. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#23,213
frequency rank, French
3,276
“F” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Sorte de tarte faite avec de la crème, des œufs et de la farine.

Corpus desk

Index FR-flan · flan · French

flan · rank #23,213 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #23,213
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,276
  • PHOTO-FINISH fiston

Nearest frequency peer: fiston (-1 rank slots)

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.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « flan »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « flan » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

flan vs FN
0% similar
flan vs fun
50% similar
flan vs fra
50% similar

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

Key facts for flan
PropertyValue
Headwordflan
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\flɑ̃\
Letters4
Frequency rank#23,213
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « flan »

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).flanse place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « fiston » (#23,212), « Flaubert » (#23,214), « fillettes » (#23,211). Parmi 3,276 lemmes en « F », « flan » est au #23,213. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around flan (IPA \flɑ̃\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #23,213 among 3,276 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for flan, with forms such as "faln", "fflan", and "flann". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "FN", "fun", "fra", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is flan, spelled F-L-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Sorte de tarte faite avec de la crème, des œufs et de la farine.
  2. 2
    Pièce de métal qu’on a taillée et préparée pour recevoir l’empreinte qui en fera une pièce de monnaie, un jeton, une médaille.
  3. 3
    Sorte de carton mou que l’on applique sur les caractères mobiles pour en prendre l’empreinte en vue du tirage.
  4. 4
    Mensonge, information inventée de toutes pièces

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Et la vanille Bourbon, à la puissance aromatique enivrante, d’anoblir flans, macarons, riz au lait, tartes aux pommes, gaufres, crèmes pâtissières et autres vanillades.
  2. Démouler dans une petite assiette afin que le sirop de datte se répartisse sur le flan.

This word in other languages

flan(English)flan(Español)Flan(Deutsch)pudim(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • faln
  • fflan
  • flann
  • fllan
  • flna
  • lfan

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of flan - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

faln2fflan1flann1fllan1flna2lfan2
Edit distance from "flan"

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 "flan"?
"flan" is spelled F-L-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is \flɑ̃\.
What does "flan" mean?
As a noun, "flan" means: Sorte de tarte faite avec de la crème, des œufs et de la farine.
What words are commonly confused with "flan"?
"flan" is commonly confused with "FN", "fun", "fra". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "flan"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "flan" is \flɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "flan" come from?
"flan" 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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "flan", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

goal#23,223Doha#23,175deus#23,168cute#23,165

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

inouïe6 variantsJessie6 variantscroie6 variantscold6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list