bargain
/ˈbɑːɡən/
"bargain" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bargain” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,651 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #7,651
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An agreement between parties concerning the sale of property; or a contract by which one party binds themself to transfer the right to some property for a consideration, and the other party binds t...
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 | bargain |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbɑːɡən/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #7,651 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bargain” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for bargain is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbɑːɡən/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,651 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for bargain, with forms such as "abrgain", "bagrain", and "baragin". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "brain", "barman", "Bahrain", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bargaynen (“to bargain, make a pledge for sale”), from Old French bargaigner (“to bargain”), from Frankish *borganjan (“to borrow, lend”), from Proto-Germanic *burgijaną (“to borrow, lend”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- (“to protect… The correct English form is bargain, spelled B-A-R-G-A-I-N.
Definition
- 1An agreement between parties concerning the sale of property; or a contract by which one party binds themself to transfer the right to some property for a consideration, and the other party binds themself to receive the property and pay the consideration.
- 2An agreement or stipulation; mutual pledge.
- 3An item purchased for significantly less than the usual, or recommended, price
- 4A gainful transaction; an advantageous purchase.
- 5The thing stipulated or purchased.
Etymology
From Middle English bargaynen (“to bargain, make a pledge for sale”), from Old French bargaigner (“to bargain”), from Frankish *borganjan (“to borrow, lend”), from Proto-Germanic *burgijaną (“to borrow, lend”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- (“to protect, secure”). Akin to Old High German boragēn, borgēn (“to look after, care for”) (German borgen), Old English borgian (“to borrow, lend, pledge”). More at borrow. Compare French barguigner and Portuguese barganhar.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: abrgain,bagrain,baragin,bargainn,bargani,barggain,bargian,barrgain,bbargain,bragain
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bargain - 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
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Using “bargain”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-A-R-G-A-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈbɑːɡən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “brain” - see the side-by-side comparison. bargain vs brain
- 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.