allergen
/ˈælə(ɹ)ˌd͡ʒɛn/
"allergen" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“allergen” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #45,197 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #45,197
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A substance which causes an allergic reaction.
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 | allergen |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈælə(ɹ)ˌd͡ʒɛn/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #45,197 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “allergen” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for allergen is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈælə(ɹ)ˌd͡ʒɛn/. Corpus data places it at rank #45,197 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A substance which causes an allergic reaction.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for allergen, with forms such as "alelrgen", "alergen", and "allegren". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "allergy", "allergic", "allergies", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Syncopated compound of allergy + -gen, coined on the model of pharmaceutical words such as pathogen and antigen. The correct English form is allergen, spelled A-L-L-E-R-G-E-N.
Definition
- 1A substance which causes an allergic reaction.
Etymology
Syncopated compound of allergy + -gen, coined on the model of pharmaceutical words such as pathogen and antigen.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: alelrgen,alergen,allegren,alleregn,allergenn,allerggen,allergne,allerrgen,allregen,lalergen
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of allergen - 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 "allergen"?
What does "allergen" mean?
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Using “allergen”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-L-L-E-R-G-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈælə(ɹ)ˌd͡ʒɛn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “allergy” - see the side-by-side comparison. allergen vs allergy
- 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.