Cajun

/ˈkeɪ.d͡ʒən/

//ˈkeɪ.d͡ʒən// noun

"cajun" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Cajun” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,203. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,203
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A member of the ethnic group descending from Acadia, primarily French-speaking Catholic and living in Southern Louisiana and Maine.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cajun · Cajun · English

Cajun · rank #29,203 · 7 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,203
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Calvary

Nearest frequency peer: Calvary (+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 “Cajun”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “Cajun” 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).

Cajun vs can
40% similar
Cajun vs Chun
60% similar
Cajun vs canon
40% similar

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

Key facts for Cajun
PropertyValue
HeadwordCajun
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkeɪ.d͡ʒən/
Letters5
Frequency rank#29,203
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Cajun”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).Cajunlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Calvary” (#29,204), “camaraderie” (#29,205), “bronco” (#29,200). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “Cajun” is #29,203. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around Cajun (IPA /ˈkeɪ.d͡ʒən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #29,203 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for Cajun, with forms such as "acjun", "cajjun", and "cajnu". 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 10 confusable-pair relationships, "can", "Chun", "canon", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: An Anglicization of the Acadian French Cadien (itself an aphetic form of Acadien (“Acadian”)), reflecting the palatalization of /dj/ to /d͡ʒ/ in the Acadian dialect. The correct English form is Cajun, spelled C-A-J-U-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A member of the ethnic group descending from Acadia, primarily French-speaking Catholic and living in Southern Louisiana and Maine.
  2. 2
    Any uneducated, poor Francophone in French Louisiana.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Damn Cajuns! They're all a bunch of lazy coonasses!

Etymology

An Anglicization of the Acadian French Cadien (itself an aphetic form of Acadien (“Acadian”)), reflecting the palatalization of /dj/ to /d͡ʒ/ in the Acadian dialect.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • acjun
  • cajjun
  • cajnu
  • cajunn
  • caujn
  • ccajun
  • cjaun

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

acjun2cajjun1cajnu2cajunn1caujn2ccajun1cjaun2
Edit distance from "Cajun"

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 "Cajun"?
"Cajun" is spelled C-A-J-U-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkeɪ.d͡ʒən/.
What does "Cajun" mean?
As a noun, "Cajun" means: A member of the ethnic group descending from Acadia, primarily French-speaking Catholic and living in Southern Louisiana and Maine.
What words are commonly confused with "Cajun"?
"Cajun" is commonly confused with "can", "Chun", "canon". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Cajun"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Cajun" is /ˈkeɪ.d͡ʒən/. 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 "Cajun"?
An Anglicization of the Acadian French Cadien (itself an aphetic form of Acadien (“Acadian”)), reflecting the palatalization of /dj/ to /d͡ʒ/ in the Acadian dialect. 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 "Cajun", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list