coloured

/ˈkʌl.əd/

//ˈkʌl.əd// adj

"coloured" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“coloured” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,017. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,017
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - British standard spelling of colored.

Corpus desk

Index EN-coloured · coloured · English

coloured · rank #8,017 · 11 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,017
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH competent

Nearest frequency peer: competent (+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 “coloured”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “coloured” 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).

coloured vs cultured
75% similar
coloured vs colored
88% similar
coloured vs clouded
75% similar

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

Key facts for coloured
PropertyValue
Headwordcoloured
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈkʌl.əd/
Letters8
Frequency rank#8,017
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “coloured”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “competent” (#8,018), “Cardiff” (#8,015), “countryside” (#8,019). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “coloured” is #8,017. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around coloured (IPA /ˈkʌl.əd/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #8,017 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "British standard spelling of colored.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for coloured, with forms such as "ccoloured", "clooured", and "colloured". 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, "cultured", "colored", "clouded", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is coloured, spelled C-O-L-O-U-R-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    British standard spelling of colored.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. For this scene, a large number of supers are engaged, and in order to further swell the crowd, practically all the available stage hands have to ‘walk on’ dressed in various coloured dominoes, and all wearing masks.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccoloured
  • clooured
  • colloured
  • colorued
  • colouerd
  • colourde
  • colouredd
  • colourred
  • coluored
  • coolured
  • ocloured

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccoloured1clooured2colloured1colorued2colouerd2colourde2colouredd1colourred1
Edit distance from "coloured"

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 "coloured"?
"coloured" is spelled C-O-L-O-U-R-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkʌl.əd/.
What does "coloured" mean?
As an adjective, "coloured" means: British standard spelling of colored.
What words are commonly confused with "coloured"?
"coloured" is commonly confused with "cultured", "colored", "clouded". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "coloured"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "coloured" is /ˈkʌl.əd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "coloured" come from?
"coloured" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "coloured", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list