coffin

/ˈkɒfɪn/

//ˈkɒfɪn// noun

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

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

The verdict

“coffin” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,582. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,582
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A closed box in which the body of a dead person is placed for burial.

Corpus desk

Index EN-coffin · coffin · English

coffin · rank #9,582 · 7 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,582
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Clara

Nearest frequency peer: Clara (-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 “coffin”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “coffin” 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).

coffin vs coin
67% similar
coffin vs Colin
50% similar
coffin vs cousin
67% similar

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

Key facts for coffin
PropertyValue
Headwordcoffin
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɒfɪn/
Letters6
Frequency rank#9,582
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “coffin”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).coffinlands 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 “Clara” (#9,581), “cavalry” (#9,580), “colorful” (#9,584). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “coffin” is #9,582. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around coffin (IPA /ˈkɒfɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,582 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for coffin, with forms such as "ccoffin", "cfofin", and "coffinn". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "coin", "Colin", "cousin", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English coffyn, from Old Northern French cofin (“sarcophagus", earlier "basket, coffer”), from Latin cophinus (“basket”), a loanword from Ancient Greek κόφινος (kóphinos, “a basket”). Doublet of coffer. The correct English form is coffin, spelled C-O-F-F-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A closed box in which the body of a dead person is placed for burial.
  2. 2
    The eighth Lenormand card.
  3. 3
    A casing or crust, or a mold, of pastry, as for a pie.
  4. 4
    A conical paper bag, used by grocers.
  5. 5
    The hollow crust or hoof of a horse's foot, below the coronet, in which is the coffin bone.
  6. 6
    A storage container for nuclear waste.
  7. 7
    A combination fence obstacle where the horse jumps a set of rails, strides downhill to a ditch, and then goes back uphill to another jump.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […] Passing the apple-tree blows of white and pink in the orchards, / Carrying a corpse to where it shall rest in the grave, / Night and day journeys a coffin.
  2. 20 May 2018, Hadley Freeman in The Guardian, Is Meghan Markle the American the royals have needed all along? I’d always found the royals a cold proposition, Diana excepted, but the sight of that little boy, his head bent, not daring to look up at his mother’s coffin in front of him was, and remains, genuinely heartbreaking.

Etymology

From Middle English coffyn, from Old Northern French cofin (“sarcophagus", earlier "basket, coffer”), from Latin cophinus (“basket”), a loanword from Ancient Greek κόφινος (kóphinos, “a basket”). Doublet of coffer.

Synonyms

wooden coatwooden kimonowooden overcoatwooden surtoutpine box

This word in other languages

ataúd(Español)cercueil(Français)Sarg(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccoffin
  • cfofin
  • coffinn
  • coffni
  • cofifn
  • cofin
  • ocffin

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccoffin1cfofin2coffinn1coffni2cofifn2cofin1ocffin2
Edit distance from "coffin"

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 "coffin"?
"coffin" is spelled C-O-F-F-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɒfɪn/.
What does "coffin" mean?
As a noun, "coffin" means: A closed box in which the body of a dead person is placed for burial.
What words are commonly confused with "coffin"?
"coffin" is commonly confused with "coin", "Colin", "cousin". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "coffin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "coffin" is /ˈkɒfɪn/. 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 "coffin"?
From Middle English coffyn, from Old Northern French cofin (“sarcophagus", earlier "basket, coffer”), from Latin cophinus (“basket”), a loanword from Ancient Greek κόφινος (kóphinos, “a basket”). Doublet of coffer. 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 "coffin", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Caesar#9,576Burton#9,575Boeing#9,572arrows#9,564

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Clara7 variantscombo7 variantsatlas7 variantsaltar7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list