pilon

\pi.lɔ̃\

/\pi.lɔ̃\/ noun

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

The verdict

“pilon” has 7 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #24,716. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,716
frequency rank, French
6,826
“P” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Instrument dont on se sert pour piler quelque chose dans un mortier, pour écraser quelque chose dans un mortier.

Corpus desk

Index FR-pilon · pilon · French

pilon · rank #24,716 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,716
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,826
  • PHOTO-FINISH pictures

Nearest frequency peer: pictures (-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.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « pilon »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « pilon » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

pilon vs pin
60% similar
pilon vs pon
60% similar
pilon vs pio
60% similar

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

Key facts for pilon
PropertyValue
Headwordpilon
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\pi.lɔ̃\
Letters5
Frequency rank#24,716
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « pilon »

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).pilonse place ici:

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

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « pictures » (#24,715), « pinceaux » (#24,717), « physiciens » (#24,714). Parmi 6,826 lemmes en « P », « pilon » est au #24,716. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around pilon (IPA \pi.lɔ̃\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #24,716 among 6,826 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for pilon, with forms such as "iplon", "pillon", and "pilno". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pin", "pon", "pio", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is pilon, spelled P-I-L-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Instrument dont on se sert pour piler quelque chose dans un mortier, pour écraser quelque chose dans un mortier.
  2. 2
    Gros maillets et marteaux qui, dans les moulins à tan, à papier, etc., servent à pilonner, à briser, à hacher.
  3. 3
    Cessation de la vente et destruction, en particulier des publications sur papier (livres, etc.).
  4. 4
    Jambe de bois.
  5. 5
    Mendiant, notamment mendiant infirme ou qui simule une infirmité.
  6. 6
    Parasite, pique-assiette.
  7. 7
    Os de la cuisse de certaines volailles quand elles sont cuites.
  8. 8
    Joint, pétard.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. L’usage des moulins pour la transformation du blé en farine paraît avoir été introduit en Europe par les Romains après la conquête de l’Asie ; auparavant on se servait probablement de pilons et de mortiers, ou même simplement de pierres.
  2. D’un pas leste, il gagna sa chambre, où il avait installé une sorte de laboratoire, et il s’y enferma. La défense d’y entrer était formelle. C’était là qu’il se livrait à des préparations spéciales, dont il ne parlait à personne. Presque tout de suite, on entendit le bruit régulier et lent d’un pilon dans un mortier.

This word in other languages

pestle(English)mortero(Español)Stö­ßel(Deutsch)pilão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • iplon
  • pillon
  • pilno
  • pilonn
  • pioln
  • plion
  • ppilon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pilon - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

iplon2pillon1pilno2pilonn1pioln2plion2ppilon1
Edit distance from "pilon"

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 "pilon"?
"pilon" is spelled P-I-L-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \pi.lɔ̃\.
What does "pilon" mean?
As a noun, "pilon" means: Instrument dont on se sert pour piler quelque chose dans un mortier, pour écraser quelque chose dans un mortier.
What words are commonly confused with "pilon"?
"pilon" is commonly confused with "pin", "pon", "pio". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pilon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pilon" is \pi.lɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "pilon" come from?
"pilon" 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 "pilon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

pitch#24,719orion#24,697rient#24,749mount#24,679

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

occupez7 variantsmalus7 variantsloués7 variantsshake7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list