glou

\ɡlu\

/\ɡlu\/ onomatopoeia

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

The verdict

“glou” is uncommon French (frequency #73,191 among 194,371 “G” headwords), classed as an onomatopoeia. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#73,191
frequency rank, French
194,371
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Bruit de l'eau.

Key facts for glou
PropertyValue
Headwordglou
LanguageFrench
Part of speechOnomatopoeia
IPA\ɡlu\
Letters4
Frequency rank#73,191
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “glou” 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). glou lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

glou is uncommon French at frequency #73,191 among 194,371 “G” headwords, classed as anonomatopoeia, transcribed \ɡlu\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for glou, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is glou, spelled G-L-O-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    Bruit de l'eau.
  2. 2
    Cri du dindon.
  3. 3
    Onomatopée exprimant un gloussement de rire.

This word in other languages

gulp(English)glup(Español)

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 "glou"?
"glou" is spelled G-L-O-U. The IPA pronunciation is \ɡlu\.
What does "glou" mean?
As an onomatopoeia, "glou" means: Bruit de l'eau.
How do you pronounce "glou"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "glou" is \ɡlu\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "glou" come from?
"glou" 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 “glou”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is G-L-O-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ɡlu\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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