kiang

\kjɑ̃ɡ\

/\kjɑ̃ɡ\/ noun

The verdict

“kiang” is uncommon French (frequency #94,963 among 737 “K” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#94,963
frequency rank, French
737
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Âne sauvage du plateau tibétain où il se nourrit de plantes salées.

Corpus desk

Index FR-kiang · kiang · French

kiang · rank #94,963 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #94,963
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 737
  • PHOTO-FINISH kilotonnes

Nearest frequency peer: kilotonnes (+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.

Rangs de longue queue près de « kiang »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « kiang » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for kiang
PropertyValue
Headwordkiang
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\kjɑ̃ɡ\
Letters5
Frequency rank#94,963
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « kiang » en français

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).kiangtombe dans cette queue de rareté:

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

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Voisins rares de la même bande: « kilotonnes » (#94,964), « keel » (#94,961), « kayakiste » (#94,959). Parmi 737 lemmes en « K », « kiang » est au #94,963. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

kiang is uncommon French at frequency #94,963 among 737 “K” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \kjɑ̃ɡ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Âne sauvage du plateau tibétain où il se nourrit de plantes salées.".

No misspelling variants are generated for kiang in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is kiang, spelled K-I-A-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Âne sauvage du plateau tibétain où il se nourrit de plantes salées.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Je fouillais les rives du regard, espérant la trace de yacks dont les piétinements indiquaient les gués. Au loin, des volées de kiangs, les ânes sauvages du Tibet, et des gazelles se jouaient des tourbières où nous pataugions.
  2. Les kiangs, cousins des chevaux, n’avaient pas subi l’indignité de la domestication, mais l’armée chinoise les avait massacrés pour nourrir l’avancée des troupes, il y a un demi-siècle. Ceux-là étaient des survivants. Nous distinguions leur chanfrein bombé, leur crinière drue, leur croupe arrondie.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

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 "kiang"?
"kiang" is spelled K-I-A-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is \kjɑ̃ɡ\.
What does "kiang" mean?
As a noun, "kiang" means: Âne sauvage du plateau tibétain où il se nourrit de plantes salées.
How do you pronounce "kiang"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kiang" is \kjɑ̃ɡ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "kiang" come from?
"kiang" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "kiang", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list