carmine
/ˈkɑːmaɪn/
"carmine" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“carmine” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #29,585 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #29,585
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 12
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A purplish-red pigment, made from dye obtained from the cochineal beetle; carminic acid or any of its derivatives.
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 | carmine |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkɑːmaɪn/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #29,585 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 12 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “carmine” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for carmine is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɑːmaɪn/. Corpus data places it at rank #29,585 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for carmine, with forms such as "acrmine", "camrine", and "carimne". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "Carne", "Carrie", "carving", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *kʷŕ̥mis From French carmin, from irregular Medieval Latin carminium, itself from Arabic قِرْمِز (qirmiz, “crimson, kermes”) from Persian *کرمست (*kermest), ultimately from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kŕ̥miš (“worm”), plus or with influence from Latin min… The correct English form is carmine, spelled C-A-R-M-I-N-E.
Definition
- 1A purplish-red pigment, made from dye obtained from the cochineal beetle; carminic acid or any of its derivatives.
- 2A purplish-red colour, resembling that pigment.
Etymology
PIE word *kʷŕ̥mis From French carmin, from irregular Medieval Latin carminium, itself from Arabic قِرْمِز (qirmiz, “crimson, kermes”) from Persian *کرمست (*kermest), ultimately from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kŕ̥miš (“worm”), plus or with influence from Latin minium. Compare crimson and kermes.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: acrmine,camrine,carimne,carmien,carminne,carmmine,carmnie,carrmine,ccarmine,cramine
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of carmine - 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
How do you spell "carmine"?
What does "carmine" mean?
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Using “carmine”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-R-M-I-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɑːmaɪn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Carne” - see the side-by-side comparison. carmine vs Carne
- 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.