thong

\ˈθɒŋ\

/\ˈθɒŋ\/ noun

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

The verdict

“thong” is uncommon French (frequency #88,158 among 164,488 “T” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#88,158
frequency rank, French
164,488
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Lanière de cuir.

Key facts for thong
PropertyValue
Headwordthong
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ˈθɒŋ\
Letters5
Frequency rank#88,158
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “thong” 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). thong lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

thong is uncommon French at frequency #88,158 among 164,488 “T” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \ˈθɒŋ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for thong in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

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 thong, spelled T-H-O-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Lanière de cuir.
  2. 2
    Fouet fait de lanières de cuir.
  3. 3
    Tong, sandale.
  4. 4
    String (sous-vêtement).

Synonyms

flip-flopsandal

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 "thong"?
"thong" is spelled T-H-O-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈθɒŋ\.
What does "thong" mean?
As a noun, "thong" means: Lanière de cuir.
How do you pronounce "thong"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "thong" is \ˈθɒŋ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "thong" come from?
"thong" 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 “thong”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is T-H-O-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ˈθɒŋ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words

Other uncommon French words near this rank

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