cardinality

/kɑːdɪˈnælɪti/

//kɑːdɪˈnælɪti// noun

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

"cardinality" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cardinality” is uncommon English (frequency #65,763 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#65,763
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The number of elements a given set contains.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cardinality · cardinality · English

cardinality · rank #65,763 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #65,763
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Cappadocia

Nearest frequency peer: Cappadocia (-2 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.

Long-tail ranks near “cardinality”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “cardinality” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cardinality
PropertyValue
Headwordcardinality
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɑːdɪˈnælɪti/
Letters11
Frequency rank#65,763
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cardinality” in English

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

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “Cappadocia” (#65,761), “Carnot” (#65,765), “candidature” (#65,760). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cardinality” is #65,763. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cardinality is uncommon English at frequency #65,763 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /kɑːdɪˈnælɪti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for cardinality, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cardinal + -ity. The correct English form is cardinality, spelled C-A-R-D-I-N-A-L-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The number of elements a given set contains.
  2. 2
    The number of terms that can inhabit a type; the possible values of a type.
  3. 3
    The property of a relationship between a database table and another one, specifying whether it is one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, or many-to-many.
  4. 4
    The status of being cardinalitial

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The empty set has a cardinality of zero.
  2. The cardinality of a set A is the least ordinal α such that there exists a bijection between A and α. We sometimes use the notation #92;alpha#61;#124;A#124; to indicate this.

Etymology

From cardinal + -ity.

This word in other languages

cardinalité(Français)Kardinalität(Deutsch)

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 "cardinality"?
"cardinality" is spelled C-A-R-D-I-N-A-L-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /kɑːdɪˈnælɪti/.
What does "cardinality" mean?
As a noun, "cardinality" means: The number of elements a given set contains.
How do you pronounce "cardinality"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cardinality" is /kɑːdɪˈnælɪti/. 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 "cardinality"?
From cardinal + -ity. 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 "cardinality", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

candidature#65,760chloroplast#65,778chronometer#65,780bludgeoning#65,739

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list