coffee

/ˈkɒf.i/

//ˈkɒf.i// noun

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

"coffee" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“coffee” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,448. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,448
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A beverage made by infusing the beans of the coffee plant in hot water.

Corpus desk

Index EN-coffee · coffee · English

coffee · rank #1,448 · 6 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,448
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH claims

Nearest frequency peer: claims (-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 “coffee”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “coffee” 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).

coffee vs coffin
67% similar
coffee vs confer
67% similar
coffee vs Coffey
67% similar

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

Key facts for coffee
PropertyValue
Headwordcoffee
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɒf.i/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,448
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “coffee”

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

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “claims” (#1,447), “complex” (#1,449), “application” (#1,446). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “coffee” is #1,448. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around coffee (IPA /ˈkɒf.i/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,448 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for coffee, with forms such as "ccoffee", "cfofee", and "cofee". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "coffin", "confer", "Coffey", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Arabic قَهْوَة (qahwa)bor. Ottoman Turkish قهوه (kahve)bor. Italian caffèbor. Dutch koffiebor. English coffee Borrowed from Dutch koffie, from Italian caffè, from Ottoman Turkish قهوه (kahve), from Arabic قَهْوَة (qahwa). Doublet of café and … The correct English form is coffee, spelled C-O-F-F-E-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A beverage made by infusing the beans of the coffee plant in hot water.
  2. 2
    A serving of this beverage.
  3. 3
    The seeds of the plant used to make coffee, called ‘beans’ due to their shape.
  4. 4
    The powder made by roasting and grinding the seeds.
  5. 5
    A tropical plant of the genus Coffea.
  6. 6
    A pale brown color, like that of milk coffee.
  7. 7
    The end of a meal, when coffee is served.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He and his friends used to order coffee whenever they went out.
  2. The Turks have a drink called coffa (for they use no wine), so named of a berry as black as soot, and as bitter[…], which they sip still of, and sup as warm as they can suffer[…].

Etymology

Etymology tree Arabic قَهْوَة (qahwa)bor. Ottoman Turkish قهوه (kahve)bor. Italian caffèbor. Dutch koffiebor. English coffee Borrowed from Dutch koffie, from Italian caffè, from Ottoman Turkish قهوه (kahve), from Arabic قَهْوَة (qahwa). Doublet of café and caffè and cognate with the words for "coffee" in other major European languages, most of which are derived from the Turkish and Italian words.

Synonyms

colorcoffeejamokejavajoe

This word in other languages

café(Español)café(Français)Kaffee(Deutsch)café(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccoffee
  • cfofee
  • cofee
  • cofefe
  • coffe
  • ocffee

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of coffee - 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.

ccoffee1cfofee2cofee1cofefe2coffe1ocffee2
Edit distance from "coffee"

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 "coffee"?
"coffee" is spelled C-O-F-F-E-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɒf.i/.
What does "coffee" mean?
As a noun, "coffee" means: A beverage made by infusing the beans of the coffee plant in hot water.
What words are commonly confused with "coffee"?
"coffee" is commonly confused with "coffin", "confer", "Coffey". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "coffee"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "coffee" is /ˈkɒf.i/. 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 "coffee"?
Etymology tree Arabic قَهْوَة (qahwa)bor. Ottoman Turkish قهوه (kahve)bor. Italian caffèbor. Dutch koffiebor. English coffee Borrowed from Dutch koffie, from Italian caffè, from Ottoman Turkish قهوه (kahve), from Arabic قَهْوَة (qahwa). Doublet of... 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 "coffee", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

claims#1,447flight#1,453google#1,455status#1,439

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

trial6 variantsObama6 variantsqueen6 variantsdrug6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list