piquant

\pi.kɑ̃\

/\pi.kɑ̃\/ adj

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

The verdict

“piquant” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #22,031 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#22,031
frequency rank, French
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui pique.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

piquant vs puant
71% similar
piquant vs piquet
71% similar
piquant vs piquent
86% similar

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

Key facts for piquant
PropertyValue
Headwordpiquant
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\pi.kɑ̃\
Letters7
Frequency rank#22,031
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “piquant” 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). piquant lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for piquant is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pi.kɑ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #22,031 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for piquant, with forms such as "ipquant", "piqaunt", and "piqquant". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "puant", "piquet", "piquent", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is piquant, spelled P-I-Q-U-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui pique.
  2. 2
    Qui fait une impression vive sur l’organe du goût ou de l’odorat.
  3. 3
    Stimulant comme le piment et le gingembre.
  4. 4
    Qualifie la température, quand elle est très froide.
  5. 5
    Qui est offensant, en parlant principalement des discours.
  6. 6
    Qualifie ce qui fait une impression vive et agréable sur l’esprit, sur les sens, et particulièrement des discours, des écrits et des ouvrages d’art qui plaisent par quelque chose de fin et de vif.
  7. 7
    Se dit des personnes qui plaisent par la vivacité et par l’agrément de leur physionomie plus que par la régularité de leurs traits.

Synonyms

mordant

This word in other languages

piquant(English)picante(Español)scharf(Deutsch)picante(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ipquant,piqaunt,piqquant,piquannt,piquantt,piquatn,piqunat,piuqant,ppiquant,pqiuant

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of piquant - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ipquant2piqaunt2piqquant1piquannt1piquantt1piquatn2piqunat2piuqant2
Edit distance from "piquant"

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 "piquant"?
"piquant" is spelled P-I-Q-U-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \pi.kɑ̃\.
What does "piquant" mean?
As an adjective, "piquant" means: Qui pique.
What words are commonly confused with "piquant"?
"piquant" is commonly confused with "puant", "piquet", "piquent". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "piquant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "piquant" is \pi.kɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "piquant" come from?
"piquant" 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.

Using “piquant”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is P-I-Q-U-A-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \pi.kɑ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “puant” - see the side-by-side comparison. piquant vs puant
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list