apostrophe

/əˈpɒs.tɹə.fi/

//əˈpɒs.tɹə.fi// noun

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

"apostrophe" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“apostrophe” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,728. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,728
frequency rank, English
35,202
“A” headwords
15
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The text character ’, which serves as a punctuation mark in various languages and as a diacritical mark in certain rare contexts.

Key facts for apostrophe
PropertyValue
Headwordapostrophe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈpɒs.tɹə.fi/
Letters10
Frequency rank#38,728
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “apostrophe” 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). apostrophe lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around apostrophe (IPA /əˈpɒs.tɹə.fi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #38,728 among 35,202 “A” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The text character ’, which serves as a punctuation mark in various languages and as a diacritical mark in certain rare contexts.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for apostrophe, with forms such as "aopstrophe", "aposrtophe", and "aposstrophe". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French apostrophe, or Latin apostrophus, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστροφος (apóstrophos, “accent of elision”), a noun use of an adjective from ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō, “I turn away”), from ἀπό (apó, “away from”) + στρέφω (stréphō, “to turn”). The correct English form is apostrophe, spelled A-P-O-S-T-R-O-P-H-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The text character ’, which serves as a punctuation mark in various languages and as a diacritical mark in certain rare contexts.

Etymology

From French apostrophe, or Latin apostrophus, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστροφος (apóstrophos, “accent of elision”), a noun use of an adjective from ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō, “I turn away”), from ἀπό (apó, “away from”) + στρέφω (stréphō, “to turn”).

This word in other languages

apóstrofo(Español)apostrophe(Français)Apostroph(Deutsch)apóstrofo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aopstrophe
  • aposrtophe
  • aposstrophe
  • apostorphe
  • apostrohpe
  • apostropeh
  • apostrophhe
  • apostropphe
  • apostrpohe
  • apostrrophe
  • aposttrophe
  • apotsrophe
  • appostrophe
  • apsotrophe
  • paostrophe

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of apostrophe - 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.

aopstrophe2aposrtophe2aposstrophe1apostorphe2apostrohpe2apostropeh2apostrophhe1apostropphe1
Edit distance from "apostrophe"

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 "apostrophe"?
"apostrophe" is spelled A-P-O-S-T-R-O-P-H-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈpɒs.tɹə.fi/.
What does "apostrophe" mean?
As a noun, "apostrophe" means: The text character ’, which serves as a punctuation mark in various languages and as a diacritical mark in certain rare contexts.
What are common misspellings of "apostrophe"?
Common misspellings include "aopstrophe", "aposrtophe", "aposstrophe", "apostorphe", "apostrohpe". The correct spelling is "apostrophe".
How do you pronounce "apostrophe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "apostrophe" is /əˈpɒs.tɹə.fi/. 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 "apostrophe"?
From French apostrophe, or Latin apostrophus, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστροφος (apóstrophos, “accent of elision”), a noun use of an adjective from ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō, “I turn away”), from ἀπό (apó, “away from”) + στρέφω (stréphō, “to turn”). 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 “apostrophe”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is A-P-O-S-T-R-O-P-H-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /əˈpɒs.tɹə.fi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

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