restant

\ʁɛs.tɑ̃\

/\ʁɛs.tɑ̃\/ adj

The verdict

“restant” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #4,180 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.

#4,180
frequency rank, French
7
letters
11
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

restant vs restau
71% similar
restant vs rêvant
57% similar
restant vs restent
86% similar

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

Key facts for restant
PropertyValue
Headwordrestant
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ʁɛs.tɑ̃\
Letters7
Frequency rank#4,180
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “restant” 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). restant 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 restant is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ʁɛs.tɑ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #4,180 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Qui reste.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for restant, with forms such as "erstant", "resatnt", and "resstant". 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, "restau", "rêvant", "restent", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is restant, spelled R-E-S-T-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui reste.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: erstant,resatnt,resstant,restannt,restantt,restatn,restnat,resttant,retsant,rrestant,rsetant

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of restant - 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.

erstant2resatnt2resstant1restannt1restantt1restatn2restnat2resttant1
Edit distance from "restant"

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 "restant"?
"restant" is spelled R-E-S-T-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \ʁɛs.tɑ̃\.
What does "restant" mean?
As an adjective, "restant" means: Qui reste.
What words are commonly confused with "restant"?
"restant" is commonly confused with "restau", "rêvant", "restent". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "restant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "restant" is \ʁɛs.tɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "restant" come from?
"restant" 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.

Using “restant”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is R-E-S-T-A-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ʁɛs.tɑ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “restau” - see the side-by-side comparison. restant vs restau
  • 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