beginning

/bᵻˈɡɪn.ɪŋ/

//bᵻˈɡɪn.ɪŋ// noun

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

"beginning" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“beginning” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,066. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,066
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
12
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of doing that which begins anything; commencement of an action, state, or space of time; entrance into being or upon a course; the first act, effort, or state of a succession of acts or sta...

Corpus desk

Index EN-beginning · beginning · English

beginning · rank #1,066 · 12 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,066
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH ass

Nearest frequency peer: ass (-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 “beginning”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “beginning” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for beginning
PropertyValue
Headwordbeginning
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bᵻˈɡɪn.ɪŋ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#1,066
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “beginning” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).beginninglands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “ass” (#1,065), “California” (#1,067), “western” (#1,064). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around beginning (IPA /bᵻˈɡɪn.ɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,066 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for beginning, with forms such as "bbeginning", "begginning", and "begining". 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. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English biginning, beginninge, beginnunge, equivalent to begin + -ing. The correct English form is beginning, spelled B-E-G-I-N-N-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of doing that which begins anything; commencement of an action, state, or space of time; entrance into being or upon a course; the first act, effort, or state of a succession of acts or states.
  2. 2
    That which is begun; a rudiment or element.
  3. 3
    That which begins or originates something; the source or first cause.
  4. 4
    The initial portion of some extended thing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. What was the beginning of the dispute?
  2. The author describes the main character’s youth at the beginning of the story.

Etymology

From Middle English biginning, beginninge, beginnunge, equivalent to begin + -ing.

Synonyms

commencingstartstartinggenesiselementembryorudimentoriginsourcestartcommencementheadstartbeginningbirthfontfountinaugurationinitiationlaunchspringspringtimeonsetoriginationyouth

Antonyms

conclusionendcompletionfinish

This word in other languages

comienzo(Español)début(Français)Anfang(Deutsch)início(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbeginning
  • begginning
  • begining
  • begininng
  • beginnign
  • beginningg
  • beginninng
  • beginnnig
  • begnining
  • beignning
  • bgeinning
  • ebginning

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

bbeginning1begginning1begining1begininng2beginnign2beginningg1beginninng1beginnnig2
Edit distance from "beginning"

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 "beginning"?
"beginning" is spelled B-E-G-I-N-N-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /bᵻˈɡɪn.ɪŋ/.
What does "beginning" mean?
As a noun, "beginning" means: The act of doing that which begins anything; commencement of an action, state, or space of time; entrance into being or upon a course; the first act, effort, or state of a succession of acts or sta...
What are common misspellings of "beginning"?
Common misspellings include "bbeginning", "begginning", "begining", "begininng", "beginnign". The correct spelling is "beginning".
How do you pronounce "beginning"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "beginning" is /bᵻˈɡɪn.ɪŋ/. 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 "beginning"?
From Middle English biginning, beginninge, beginnunge, equivalent to begin + -ing. 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 "beginning", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

certainly#1,069treatment#1,063described#1,074potential#1,057

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

campaign12 variantsreported12 variantsconsider12 variantsadditional12 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "beginning". Here's where to go from here.

  • 12 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #1,066 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "B" letter cohort. B–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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