cane
/keɪn/
"cane" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cane” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,175 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #10,175
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 3
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A plant with simple stems, like bamboo or sugar cane, or the stem thereof:
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 | cane |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /keɪn/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #10,175 |
| Misspellings tracked | 3 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cane” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for cane is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /keɪn/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,175 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 3 likely wrong-spelling variants for cane, with forms such as "canne", "ccane", and "cnae". 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, "CE", "car", "cat", 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 cane, canne, from Old French cane (“sugar cane”), from Latin canna (“reed”), from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na). Doublet of canna and kaneh. Related to channel and canal. The correct English form is cane, spelled C-A-N-E.
Definition
- 1A plant with simple stems, like bamboo or sugar cane, or the stem thereof:
- 2A plant with simple stems, like bamboo or sugar cane, or the stem thereof:
- 3A plant with simple stems, like bamboo or sugar cane, or the stem thereof:
- 4A plant with simple stems, like bamboo or sugar cane, or the stem thereof:
- 5The stem of such a plant adapted for use as a tool:
- 6The stem of such a plant adapted for use as a tool:
- 7The stem of such a plant adapted for use as a tool:
- 8A rod-shaped tool or device, resembling the stem of the plant:
- 9A rod-shaped tool or device, resembling the stem of the plant:
- 10A rod-shaped tool or device, resembling the stem of the plant:
- 11Split rattan, as used in wickerwork and basketry.
- 12A local European measure of length; the canna.
Etymology
From Middle English cane, canne, from Old French cane (“sugar cane”), from Latin canna (“reed”), from Ancient Greek κάννα (kánna), from Akkadian 𒄀 (qanû, “reed”), from Sumerian 𒄀𒈾 (gi.na). Doublet of canna and kaneh. Related to channel and canal.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: canne,ccane,cnae
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cane - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 “cane”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /keɪn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “CE” - see the side-by-side comparison. cane vs CE
- 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.