bean
/ˈbi(ː)n/
"bean" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bean” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,313. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #7,313
- frequency rank, English
- 4,121
- “B” headwords
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Any plant of several genera of the taxonomic family Fabaceae that produces large edible seeds or edible seedpods.
Corpus desk
Index EN-bean · bean · English
bean · rank #7,313 · 5 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-COMMON #7,313
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 5 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,121
- PHOTO-FINISH atomic
Nearest frequency peer: atomic (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “bean”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- ancestors
ancestors
92,691 corpus weight
- archive
archive
92,690 corpus weight
- atomic
atomic
92,689 corpus weight
- bean
bean
92,688 corpus weight
- bicycle
bicycle
92,687 corpus weight
- Bryan
Bryan
92,686 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “bean” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | bean |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbi(ː)n/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #7,313 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “bean” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 5 spelling variants around bean (IPA /ˈbi(ː)n/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,313 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for bean, with forms such as "baen", "bbean", and "beann". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bn", "bed", "bet", 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 bene, from Old English bēan, from Proto-West Germanic *baunu, from Proto-Germanic *baunō (“bean”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰabʰ- (“bean”). Cognate with Scots bene, bein (“bean”), North Frisian buan (“bean”), Saterland Frisian Boone (“… The correct English form is bean, spelled B-E-A-N.
Definition
- 1Any plant of several genera of the taxonomic family Fabaceae that produces large edible seeds or edible seedpods.
- 2The large edible seed of such a plant (for example, a broad bean, navy bean, or garbanzo bean).
- 3The edible seedpod of such a plant.
- 4The bean-like seed of certain other plants, such as a vanilla bean or (especially) a coffee bean.
- 5An object resembling a pea or bean in shape, often made from plastic or styrofoam and used in large numbers as packing material or as stuffing for beanbags and similar items.
- 6The head or brain.
- 7The human clitoris.
- 8A person; especially, a baby.
- 9A guinea coin or sovereign.
- 10Money.
- 11Clipping of JavaBean.
- 12Any form of tablet, especially benzedrine (benny).
- 13A toe bean.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how bean appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
2004, T. N. Shivenanda, B. R. V. Iyengar, Phosphorus Management in French Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.), Ramdane Dris, S. Mohan Jain (editors), Production Practices and Quality Assessment of Food Crops, Volume 2: Plant Mineral Nutrition and Pesticide Management, page 79, Beans are a large group of leguminous vegetables that serve as a main source of protei…
Green beans, also called French beans, can be pickled.
Etymology
From Middle English bene, from Old English bēan, from Proto-West Germanic *baunu, from Proto-Germanic *baunō (“bean”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰabʰ- (“bean”). Cognate with Scots bene, bein (“bean”), North Frisian buan (“bean”), Saterland Frisian Boone (“bean”), West Frisian bean, beanne (“bean”), Dutch boon (“bean”), German Bohne (“bean”), Luxembourgish Boun (“bean”), Danish bønne (“bean”), Faroese bøn, bøna (“bean”), Icelandic baun (“bean”), Norwegian Bokmål bønne (“bean”), Norwegian Nynorsk bauna, baune, bogna, bønne, Swedish böna (“bean”), Irish pónaire (“bean”), Manx poanrey (“bean”), Scottish Gaelic pònair (“bean”), Latin faba (“bean”), Russian боб (bob, “bean”), Serbo-Croatian бо̏б/bȍb. Doublet of fava.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- baen
- bbean
- beann
- bena
- eban
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bean - 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.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "bean", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).
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.