valantvsvolantWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: valant is a verb, volant is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“valant” is a verb and “volant” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#26,916
“valant” frequency rank
#3,814
“volant” frequency rank
30730
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature valant volant
Definition Participe présent de valoir. Qui a la faculté de voler.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set valant and volant apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
valant
6 ch
volant

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: valant is \va.lɑ̃\ while volant is \vɔ.lɑ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “valant” becomes o in “volant”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30730, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

valant is recorded at frequency rank #26,916, classified as averb, pronounced \va.lɑ̃\. volant is at rank #3,814, tagged as anadj, pronounced \vɔ.lɑ̃\.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 30730, this pair ranks #308,331 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of valant vs volant

Shared letters: alntv. Private to "valant": -. Private to "volant": o.

"valant" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "volant" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • valantavlant · vaalnt · valannt · valantt · valatn · vallant · valnat · vlaant
  • volantovlant · vloant · voalnt · volannt · volantt · volatn · vollant · volnat

Frequency comparison

valant#26,916
volant#3,814

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "valant" and "volant" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "valant" is a verb and "volant" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "valant" or "volant"?
"volant" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,814 in our French list, against #26,916 for "valant". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering valant vs volant

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “valant”; for an adjective, it's “volant”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “valant” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list