colloquial

/kəˈləʊ.kwɪəl/

//kəˈləʊ.kwɪəl// adj

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

"colloquial" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“colloquial” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #31,480. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,480
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Characteristic of familiar conversation, of common parlance; informal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-colloquial · colloquial · English

colloquial · rank #31,480 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #31,480
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cocked

Nearest frequency peer: cocked (-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 “colloquial”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “colloquial” 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).

colloquial vs colloquially
83% similar

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

Key facts for colloquial
PropertyValue
Headwordcolloquial
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/kəˈləʊ.kwɪəl/
Letters10
Frequency rank#31,480
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “colloquial”

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).colloquiallands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “cocked” (#31,479), “combed” (#31,481), “clumps” (#31,478). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “colloquial” is #31,480. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around colloquial (IPA /kəˈləʊ.kwɪəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #31,480 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for colloquial, with forms such as "ccolloquial", "cloloquial", and "colloqiual". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "colloquially", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 1751, from earlier term colloquy (“a conversation”), from Latin colloquium (“conference, conversation”), from con- (“together”) + loquor (“to speak”), + -al. The correct English form is colloquial, spelled C-O-L-L-O-Q-U-I-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Characteristic of familiar conversation, of common parlance; informal.
  2. 2
    Of or pertaining to a conversation; conversational or chatty.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. You're using too many colloquial words in this cover letter: I suggest changing "I picked up loads of cool skills" to "I acquired many positive abilities"
  2. The colloquial, and at times sarcastic, tone of her books makes her popular with teenagers.

Etymology

1751, from earlier term colloquy (“a conversation”), from Latin colloquium (“conference, conversation”), from con- (“together”) + loquor (“to speak”), + -al.

Synonyms

casualcolloq.coll.

Antonyms

formalprofessionalliterarybookish

This word in other languages

coloquial(Español)familier(Français)umgangssprachlich(Deutsch)coloquial(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccolloquial
  • cloloquial
  • colloqiual
  • colloqquial
  • colloquail
  • colloquiall
  • colloquila
  • collouqial
  • collqouial
  • cololquial
  • coloquial
  • oclloquial

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccolloquial1cloloquial2colloqiual2colloqquial1colloquail2colloquiall1colloquila2collouqial2
Edit distance from "colloquial"

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 "colloquial"?
"colloquial" is spelled C-O-L-L-O-Q-U-I-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈləʊ.kwɪəl/.
What does "colloquial" mean?
As an adjective, "colloquial" means: Characteristic of familiar conversation, of common parlance; informal.
What words are commonly confused with "colloquial"?
"colloquial" is commonly confused with "colloquially". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "colloquial"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "colloquial" is /kəˈləʊ.kwɪəl/. 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 "colloquial"?
1751, from earlier term colloquy (“a conversation”), from Latin colloquium (“conference, conversation”), from con- (“together”) + loquor (“to speak”), + -al. 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 "colloquial", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

confiscate#31,485chopsticks#31,474conversing#31,488Bellingham#31,454

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

befriend12 variantsBarrymore12 variantsdisprove12 variantsdogmatic12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list