burden

/ˈbɜːdn̩/

//ˈbɜːdn̩// noun

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

"burden" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“burden” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,829. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,829
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A heavy load.

Corpus desk

Index EN-burden · burden · English

burden · rank #4,829 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,829
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH brush

Nearest frequency peer: brush (-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 “burden”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “burden” 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).

burden vs burn
67% similar
burden vs burke
67% similar
burden vs buried
67% similar

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

Key facts for burden
PropertyValue
Headwordburden
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɜːdn̩/
Letters6
Frequency rank#4,829
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “burden” 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).burdenlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “brush” (#4,828), “Campbell” (#4,830), “Brazilian” (#4,827). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around burden (IPA /ˈbɜːdn̩/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,829 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for burden, with forms such as "bburden", "bruden", and "budren". 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, "burn", "burke", "buried", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English burden, birden, burthen, birthen, byrthen, from Old English byrden, byrþen, from Proto-West Germanic *burþini, from *burþī, from Proto-Germanic *burþį̄, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry, bear”). The correct English form is burden, spelled B-U-R-D-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A heavy load.
  2. 2
    A responsibility, onus.
  3. 3
    A cause of worry; that which is grievous, wearisome, or oppressive.
  4. 4
    The capacity of a vessel, or the weight of cargo that she will carry.
  5. 5
    The tops or heads of stream-work which lie over the stream of tin.
  6. 6
    The proportion of ore and flux to fuel, in the charge of a blast furnace.
  7. 7
    A fixed quantity of certain commodities.
  8. 8
    A birth.
  9. 9
    The total amount of toxins, parasites, cancer cells, plaque or similar present in an organism.
  10. 10
    The distance between rows of blastholes parallel to the major free face (i.e. face of the excavation)

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I know that this was Life,—the track ⁠Whereon with equal feet we fared; ⁠And then, as now, the day prepared The daily burden for the back.
  2. There were four or five men in the vault already, and I could hear more coming down the passage, and guessed from their heavy footsteps that they were carrying burdens.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English burden, birden, burthen, birthen, byrthen, from Old English byrden, byrþen, from Proto-West Germanic *burþini, from *burþī, from Proto-Germanic *burþį̄, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry, bear”).

This word in other languages

carga(Español)charge(Français)Belastung(Deutsch)carga(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bburden
  • bruden
  • budren
  • burdden
  • burdenn
  • burdne
  • buredn
  • burrden
  • ubrden

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of burden - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

bburden1bruden2budren2burdden1burdenn1burdne2buredn2burrden1
Edit distance from "burden"

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 "burden"?
"burden" is spelled B-U-R-D-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɜːdn̩/.
What does "burden" mean?
As a noun, "burden" means: A heavy load.
What words are commonly confused with "burden"?
"burden" is commonly confused with "burn", "burke", "buried". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "burden"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "burden" is /ˈbɜːdn̩/. 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 "burden"?
Inherited from Middle English burden, birden, burthen, birthen, byrthen, from Old English byrden, byrþen, from Proto-West Germanic *burþini, from *burþī, from Proto-Germanic *burþį̄, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry, bear”). 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 "burden", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

casual#4,832Denver#4,843tunnel#4,809Steven#4,800

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

blessed9 variantswarrant9 variantsexpense9 variantshiring9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list