siphon
\si.fɔ̃\
The verdict
“siphon” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #33,466 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #33,466
- frequency rank, French
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Tube recourbé dont on se sert pour faire passer un liquide d'un niveau donné à un niveau inférieur, en passant par un niveau supérieur aux deux autres.
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 | siphon |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \si.fɔ̃\ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #33,466 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “siphon” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for siphon is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \si.fɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #33,466 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for siphon, with forms such as "isphon", "sihpon", and "siphhon". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "Sion", "sinon", "Simon", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is siphon, spelled S-I-P-H-O-N.
Definition
- 1Tube recourbé dont on se sert pour faire passer un liquide d'un niveau donné à un niveau inférieur, en passant par un niveau supérieur aux deux autres.
- 2Dispositif ou appareil permettant de faire écouler un liquide ou de faire communiquer deux liquides.
- 3Appareil fondé sur le même principe et qui sert à faire passer sous une rivière l’eau d’un égout, à dériver l’eau d’une source, etc.
- 4Tube recourbé en forme de S horizontal, placé sur les conduites d'évacuation des installations sanitaires, de façon à empêcher la remontée des mauvaises odeurs.
- 5Partie d'un passage naturel souterrain se trouvant sous le niveau de l'eau.
- 6Dispositif utilisé pour effectuer les lavements.
- 7Bouteille en verre épais, hermétiquement close, remplie d'une boisson gazeuse et munie d'un dispositif permettant l'évacuation du liquide sous pression.
- 8Chez les lamellibranches, prolongements des orifices d’entrée et de sortie de l’eau en longs tubes qui s’avancent hors de la coquille.
- 9Mycélium continu du mucor, formant comme un tube allongé sans cloisonnement cellulaire.
- 10Tourbillon de vent qui remonte sur la mer, en forme de colonne aspirante.
- 11(Laboratoire) Bouteille de forme enflée au milieu de sa hauteur, bouché hermétiquement, dans laquelle de l’eau chargée d’acide carbonique dégage du gaz par un orifice prévu à cet effet.
- 12Procédé de coulage de pièces moulées consistant à alimenter le moule par la partie inférieure permettant ainsi une alimentation continue et une amélioration de l’homogénéité du métal.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: isphon,sihpon,siphhon,siphno,siphonn,sipohn,sipphon,spihon,ssiphon
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of siphon - 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 "siphon"?
What does "siphon" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "siphon"?
How do you pronounce "siphon"?
What language does "siphon" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “siphon”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is S-I-P-H-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \si.fɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Sion” - see the side-by-side comparison. siphon vs Sion
- 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.