anemia

/əˈnimi.ə/

//əˈnimi.ə// noun

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

"anemia" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“anemia” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #23,169 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#23,169
frequency rank, English
6
letters
7
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A medical condition in which the capacity of the blood to transport oxygen to the tissues is reduced, either because of too few red blood cells, or because of too little hemoglobin, resulting in pa...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

anemia vs anima
67% similar
anemia vs Anglia
50% similar
anemia vs anemic
83% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for anemia
PropertyValue
Headwordanemia
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈnimi.ə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#23,169
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “anemia” sits in English 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). anemia lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for anemia is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈnimi.ə/. Corpus data places it at rank #23,169 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for anemia, with forms such as "aenmia", "aneima", and "anemai". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "anima", "Anglia", "anemic", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek ἀναιμία (anaimía), from ἀν- (an-, “not”) + αἷμα (haîma, “blood”) + -ia. By surface analysis, an- + -emia. The correct English form is anemia, spelled A-N-E-M-I-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A medical condition in which the capacity of the blood to transport oxygen to the tissues is reduced, either because of too few red blood cells, or because of too little hemoglobin, resulting in pallor and fatigue.
  2. 2
    A disease or condition that has anemia as a symptom.
  3. 3
    Ischemia.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀναιμία (anaimía), from ἀν- (an-, “not”) + αἷμα (haîma, “blood”) + -ia. By surface analysis, an- + -emia.

This word in other languages

anemia(Español)anémie(Français)Anämie(Deutsch)anemia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: aenmia,aneima,anemai,anemmia,anmeia,annemia,naemia

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of anemia - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

aenmia2aneima2anemai2anemmia1anmeia2annemia1naemia2
Edit distance from "anemia"

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 "anemia"?
"anemia" is spelled A-N-E-M-I-A. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈnimi.ə/.
What does "anemia" mean?
As a noun, "anemia" means: A medical condition in which the capacity of the blood to transport oxygen to the tissues is reduced, either because of too few red blood cells, or because of too little hemoglobin, resulting in pa...
What words are commonly confused with "anemia"?
"anemia" is commonly confused with "anima", "Anglia", "anemic". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "anemia"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "anemia" is /əˈnimi.ə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "anemia"?
From Ancient Greek ἀναιμία (anaimía), from ἀν- (an-, “not”) + αἷμα (haîma, “blood”) + -ia. By surface analysis, an- + -emia. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 “anemia”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is A-N-E-M-I-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /əˈnimi.ə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “anima” - see the side-by-side comparison. anemia vs anima
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list