character

/ˈkæ.ɹɪk.tə/

//ˈkæ.ɹɪk.tə// noun

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

"character" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“character” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #803. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#803
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A being involved in the action of a story; a persona.

Corpus desk

Index EN-character · character · English

character · rank #803 · 14 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #803
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cannot

Nearest frequency peer: cannot (-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 “character”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “character” 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).

character vs charter
78% similar
character vs characters
90% similar

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

Key facts for character
PropertyValue
Headwordcharacter
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkæ.ɹɪk.tə/
Letters9
Frequency rank#803
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “character”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).characterlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “cannot” (#802), “chief” (#804), “brother” (#801). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “character” is #803. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around character (IPA /ˈkæ.ɹɪk.tə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #803 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 15 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for character, with forms such as "cahracter", "ccharacter", and "chaarcter". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "charter", "characters", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English caracter, from Old French caractere, from Latin character, from Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr, “type, nature, character”), from χαράσσω (kharássō, “to engrave”). Doublet of charakter. The correct English form is character, spelled C-H-A-R-A-C-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A being involved in the action of a story; a persona.
  2. 2
    A distinguishing feature; characteristic; trait; nature; phene.
  3. 3
    A complex of traits marking a person, group, breed, or type.
  4. 4
    Strength of mind; resolution; independence; individuality; moral strength.
  5. 5
    A unique or extraordinary individual; a person characterized by peculiar or notable traits, especially charisma.
  6. 6
    A written or printed symbol, or letter.
  7. 7
    Style of writing or printing; handwriting; the particular form of letters used by a person or people.
  8. 8
    A secret cipher; a way of writing in code.
  9. 9
    One of the basic elements making up a text file or string: a code representing a printing character or a control character.
  10. 10
    A person or individual, especially one who is unknown.
  11. 11
    An assignment of complex numbers to each element of a group, in particular a finite abelian group. More precisely, a group homomorphism into the group of units of a field (usually ℂ).
  12. 12
    Quality, position, rank, or capacity; quality or conduct with respect to a certain office or duty.
  13. 13
    The estimate, individual or general, put upon a person or thing; reputation.
  14. 14
    A reference given to a servant, attesting to their behaviour, competence, etc.
  15. 15
    Personal appearance.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. [I]n a tragedy, or epick poem, the hero of the piece must be advanced foremost to the view of the reader or spectator; he must outshine the rest of all the characters; he must appear the prince of them, like the sun in the Copernican system, encompassed with the less noble planets …
  2. The stories did not seem to me to touch life. […] They left me with the impression of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator.

Etymology

From Middle English caracter, from Old French caractere, from Latin character, from Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr, “type, nature, character”), from χαράσσω (kharássō, “to engrave”). Doublet of charakter.

This word in other languages

personaje(Español)personnage(Français)Figur(Deutsch)personagem(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cahracter
  • ccharacter
  • chaarcter
  • characcter
  • characetr
  • characterr
  • charactre
  • charactter
  • charatcer
  • charcater
  • charracter
  • chharacter
  • chraacter
  • hcaracter

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of character - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

cahracter2ccharacter1chaarcter2characcter1characetr2characterr1charactre2charactter1
Edit distance from "character"

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 "character"?
"character" is spelled C-H-A-R-A-C-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkæ.ɹɪk.tə/.
What does "character" mean?
As a noun, "character" means: A being involved in the action of a story; a persona.
What words are commonly confused with "character"?
"character" is commonly confused with "charter", "characters". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "character"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "character" is /ˈkæ.ɹɪk.tə/. 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 "character"?
From Middle English caracter, from Old French caractere, from Latin character, from Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr, “type, nature, character”), from χαράσσω (kharássō, “to engrave”). Doublet of charakter. 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 "character", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

attention#800countries#762situation#857September#741

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

published14 variantsassociation14 variantsdifference14 variantstreatment14 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list