Catalan
/ˈkæ.təˌlæn/
"catalan" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Catalan” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,662 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #16,662
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A native or inhabitant of Catalonia, Spain.
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 | Catalan |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkæ.təˌlæn/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #16,662 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Catalan” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Catalan is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkæ.təˌlæn/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,662 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A native or inhabitant of Catalonia, Spain.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for Catalan, with forms such as "actalan", "caatlan", and "cataaln". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "catalog", "Catalina", "Canaan", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English Catalane, from French Catalan, from Catalan català. The correct English form is Catalan, spelled C-A-T-A-L-A-N.
Definition
- 1A native or inhabitant of Catalonia, Spain.
Etymology
From Middle English Catalane, from French Catalan, from Catalan català.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: actalan,caatlan,cataaln,catalann,catallan,catalna,catlaan,cattalan,ccatalan,ctaalan
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Catalan - 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 "Catalan"?
What does "Catalan" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Catalan"?
How do you pronounce "Catalan"?
What is the origin of the word "Catalan"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Catalan”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-T-A-L-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkæ.təˌlæn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “catalog” - see the side-by-side comparison. Catalan vs catalog
- 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.