aboriginal
/ˌæb.əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.n̩.l̩/
"aboriginal" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“aboriginal” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,841 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #9,841
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - First according to historical or scientific records; original; indigenous; primitive.
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 | aboriginal |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌæb.əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.n̩.l̩/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #9,841 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “aboriginal” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for aboriginal is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌæb.əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.n̩.l̩/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,841 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for aboriginal, with forms such as "abboriginal", "aboirginal", and "aborgiinal". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "aborigines", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: See Aboriginal. The correct English form is aboriginal, spelled A-B-O-R-I-G-I-N-A-L.
Definition
- 1First according to historical or scientific records; original; indigenous; primitive.
- 2Living in a land before colonization by foreigners.
- 3Alternative letter-case form of Aboriginal
Etymology
See Aboriginal.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: abboriginal,aboirginal,aborgiinal,aborigginal,aborigianl,aboriginall,aboriginla,aboriginnal,aborignial,aboriignal,aborriginal,abroiginal,aobriginal,baoriginal
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of aboriginal - 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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "aboriginal"?
What does "aboriginal" mean?
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Using “aboriginal”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-B-O-R-I-G-I-N-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌæb.əˈɹɪd͡ʒ.n̩.l̩/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “aborigines” - see the side-by-side comparison. aboriginal vs aborigines
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English 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.