phytoplancton

\fi.to.plɑ̃k.tɔ̃\

/\fi.to.plɑ̃k.tɔ̃\/ noun

The verdict

“phytoplancton” is uncommon French (frequency #68,543 among 6,826 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#68,543
frequency rank, French
6,826
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Plancton végétal, et particulièrement l’ensemble des espèces de plancton autotrophes.

Corpus desk

Index FR-phytoplancton · phytoplancton · French

phytoplancton · rank #68,543 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #68,543
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,826
  • PHOTO-FINISH phra

Nearest frequency peer: phra (-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 « phytoplancton »

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 « phytoplancton » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for phytoplancton
PropertyValue
Headwordphytoplancton
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\fi.to.plɑ̃k.tɔ̃\
Letters13
Frequency rank#68,543
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « phytoplancton » en français

La fréquence va de la poignée de mots du quotidien (gauche) à la longue queue presque jamais vue (droite).phytoplanctontombe dans cette queue de rareté:

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

L'échelle est logarithmique (chaque tic ≈ 10× plus rare). Voisins rares de la même bande: « phra » (#68,542), « pian » (#68,544), « pharynx » (#68,541). Parmi 6,826 lemmes en « P », « phytoplancton » est au #68,543. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

phytoplancton is uncommon French at frequency #68,543 among 6,826 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \fi.to.plɑ̃k.tɔ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Plancton végétal, et particulièrement l’ensemble des espèces de plancton autotrophes.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for phytoplancton in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is phytoplancton, spelled P-H-Y-T-O-P-L-A-N-C-T-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Plancton végétal, et particulièrement l’ensemble des espèces de plancton autotrophes.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Le plancton rassemble les espèces aquatiques entraînées par le courant, animales comme des méduses pour le zooplancton, et végétales comme les algues pour le phytoplancton, ainsi que des bactéries et des virus.
  2. « Les rejets en mer tuent instantanément le phytoplancton et viennent acidifier les océans et les mers, qui contribuent à réguler le réchauffement climatique », avance ainsi Hervé Menchon, adjoint au maire de Marseille chargé de la biodiversité marine

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 "phytoplancton"?
"phytoplancton" is spelled P-H-Y-T-O-P-L-A-N-C-T-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \fi.to.plɑ̃k.tɔ̃\.
What does "phytoplancton" mean?
As a noun, "phytoplancton" means: Plancton végétal, et particulièrement l’ensemble des espèces de plancton autotrophes.
How do you pronounce "phytoplancton"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "phytoplancton" is \fi.to.plɑ̃k.tɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "phytoplancton" come from?
"phytoplancton" 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 "phytoplancton", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list