lanterne
\lɑ̃.tɛʁn\
The verdict
“lanterne” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #13,201 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #13,201
- frequency rank, French
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Boîte de verre, ou d’autre matière transparente, dans laquelle on enferme une lumière pour la protéger du vent.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | lanterne |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \lɑ̃.tɛʁn\ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #13,201 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “lanterne” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for lanterne is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \lɑ̃.tɛʁn\. Corpus data places it at rank #13,201 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for lanterne, with forms such as "alnterne", "lanetrne", and "lannterne". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "lanternes", "laiterie", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is lanterne, spelled L-A-N-T-E-R-N-E.
Definition
- 1Boîte de verre, ou d’autre matière transparente, dans laquelle on enferme une lumière pour la protéger du vent.
- 2Petite armoire vitrée où l’on renferme à l’abri de l’air les trébuchets ou balances très sensibles.
- 3Tourelle ouverte par les côtés, posée sur le comble d’un édifice et ordinairement au-dessus d’un dôme, d’une coupole.
- 4Cage circulaire ou carrée, garnie de fenêtres et de vitraux, et placée au-dessus d’un édifice pour en éclairer l’intérieur par en haut.
- 5Loge placée dans quelques salles de réunions solennelles, et d’où, sans être vu, on peut voir et écouter.
- 6Pignon à lanterne. Pignon d’engrenage pourvu de fuseaux entre lesquels s’enclenchent les dents d’une autre roue ou d’une crémaillère.
- 7Dispositif d’éclairage d’une bicyclette.
- 8Type de pâtes en morceaux striés et incurvés.
- 9Synonyme d’alkékenge (car le fruit est contenu dans une vésicule qui devient transparente, semblable à une lanterne).
- 10Fadaises, contes absurdes, ridicules.
- 11Synonyme de feu de position.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: alnterne,lanetrne,lannterne,lantenre,lanteren,lanternne,lanterrne,lantrene,lantterne,latnerne,llanterne,lnaterne
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lanterne - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "lanterne"?
What does "lanterne" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "lanterne"?
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Using “lanterne”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is L-A-N-T-E-R-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \lɑ̃.tɛʁn\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “lanternes” - see the side-by-side comparison. lanterne vs lanternes
- 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.