flottant

\flɔ.tɑ̃\

/\flɔ.tɑ̃\/ adj

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

The verdict

“flottant” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #15,632 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#15,632
frequency rank, French
8
letters
11
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui flotte.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

flottant vs flottent
88% similar
flottant vs frottent
75% similar
flottant vs frottant
88% similar

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

Key facts for flottant
PropertyValue
Headwordflottant
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\flɔ.tɑ̃\
Letters8
Frequency rank#15,632
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “flottant” 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). flottant 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 flottant is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \flɔ.tɑ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #15,632 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for flottant, with forms such as "fflottant", "fllottant", and "flotant". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "flottent", "frottent", "frottant", 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 flottant, spelled F-L-O-T-T-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui flotte.
  2. 2
    Qui est ample, mobile, ondoyant.
  3. 3
    Qui est incertain, irrésolu, variable.
  4. 4
    Dont le potentiel par rapport à la terre n’est pas fixé.
  5. 5
    Se dit d’une quantité de titres de sociétés cotées considérée comme susceptible d’être présentée à tout moment à la vente sur le marché.
  6. 6
    Se dit du montant des chèques ou des effets déjà débités d’un compte et non encore crédités sur un autre compte.
  7. 7
    Se dit des navires et des poissons qui sont sur l’eau.

This word in other languages

floating(English)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: fflottant,fllottant,flotant,flotatnt,flottannt,flottantt,flottatn,flottnat,fltotant,folttant,lfottant

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of flottant - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

fflottant1fllottant1flotant1flotatnt2flottannt1flottantt1flottatn2flottnat2
Edit distance from "flottant"

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 "flottant"?
"flottant" is spelled F-L-O-T-T-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \flɔ.tɑ̃\.
What does "flottant" mean?
As an adjective, "flottant" means: Qui flotte.
What words are commonly confused with "flottant"?
"flottant" is commonly confused with "flottent", "frottent", "frottant". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "flottant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "flottant" is \flɔ.tɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "flottant" come from?
"flottant" 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 “flottant”

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

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