anima

/ˈænɪmə/

//ˈænɪmə// noun

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

"anima" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“anima” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,725. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,725
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The soul or animating principle of a living thing, especially as contrasted with the animus.

Corpus desk

Index EN-anima · anima · English

anima · rank #38,725 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #38,725
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH anemic

Nearest frequency peer: anemic (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “anima”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “anima” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

anima vs Asia
40% similar
anima vs anna
60% similar
anima vs aria
60% similar

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

Key facts for anima
PropertyValue
Headwordanima
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈænɪmə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#38,725
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “anima”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).animalands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “anemic” (#38,724), “anointing” (#38,726), “Andersson” (#38,723). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “anima” is #38,725. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around anima (IPA /ˈænɪmə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #38,725 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for anima, with forms such as "ainma", "aniam", and "animma". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Asia", "anna", "aria", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin anima (“a current of air, wind, air, breath, the vital principle, life, soul”), sometimes equivalent to animus (“mind”), both from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe, blow”); see animus. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἄνεμος (ánemos, … The correct English form is anima, spelled A-N-I-M-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    The soul or animating principle of a living thing, especially as contrasted with the animus.
  2. 2
    The inner self (not the external persona) of a person that is in touch with the unconscious as opposed to the persona.
  3. 3
    The unconscious feminine aspect of a person.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how anima appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. [W]e cannot chuse but admire the exceeding vividness of the governing faculty or Anima of the Insect, which is able to dispose and regulate so the motive faculties, as to cause every peculiar organ, not onely to move or act so quick, but to do it also so regularly.
  2. In the Jungian model of the psyche, the male has an internalized female counterpart, the anima; while the female has an internalized masculine counterpart, the animus.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin anima (“a current of air, wind, air, breath, the vital principle, life, soul”), sometimes equivalent to animus (“mind”), both from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe, blow”); see animus. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἄνεμος (ánemos, “wind”), Old English anda (“anger, envy, zeal”). More at onde.

This word in other languages

Anima(Deutsch)anima(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ainma
  • aniam
  • animma
  • anmia
  • annima
  • naima

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of anima - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ainma2aniam2animma1anmia2annima1naima2
Edit distance from "anima"

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 "anima"?
"anima" is spelled A-N-I-M-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈænɪmə/.
What does "anima" mean?
As a noun, "anima" means: The soul or animating principle of a living thing, especially as contrasted with the animus.
What words are commonly confused with "anima"?
"anima" is commonly confused with "Asia", "anna", "aria". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "anima"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "anima" is /ˈænɪmə/. 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 "anima"?
Borrowed from Latin anima (“a current of air, wind, air, breath, the vital principle, life, soul”), sometimes equivalent to animus (“mind”), both from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe, blow”); see animus. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἄνεμος... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "anima", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

awash#38,739Basra#38,747Willa#38,690boson#38,765

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

wich6 variantswart6 variantsCarne6 variantsCiara6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list