comma

/ˈkɒmə/

//ˈkɒmə// noun

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

"comma" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“comma” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #20,315) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#20,315
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The punctuation mark ⟨,⟩ used to indicate a set of parts of a sentence or between elements of a list.

Corpus desk

Index EN-comma · comma · English

comma · rank #20,315 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,315
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Colombo

Nearest frequency peer: Colombo (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “comma”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “comma” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

comma vs comp
60% similar
comma vs Cora
40% similar
comma vs Como
40% similar

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

Key facts for comma
PropertyValue
Headwordcomma
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɒmə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#20,315
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “comma”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).commalands 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 “Colombo” (#20,314), “coercion” (#20,313), “competency” (#20,317). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “comma” is #20,315. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for comma is neighbouring look-alikes ("comp", "Cora", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈkɒmə/. Frequency #20,315 among 5,599 “C” headwords. 7 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for comma, with forms such as "ccomma", "cmoma", and "comam". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "comp", "Cora", "Como", 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 Latin comma, from Ancient Greek κόμμα (kómma), from κόπτω (kóptō, “I cut”). The correct English form is comma, spelled C-O-M-M-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    The punctuation mark ⟨,⟩ used to indicate a set of parts of a sentence or between elements of a list.
  2. 2
    A similar-looking subscript diacritical mark.
  3. 3
    Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Polygonia, having a comma-shaped white mark on the underwings, especially Polygonia c-album and Polygonia c-aureum of North Africa, Europe, and Asia.
  4. 4
    A difference in the calculation of nearly identical intervals by different ways.
  5. 5
    A delimiting marker between items in a genetic sequence.
  6. 6
    In Ancient Greek rhetoric, a short clause, something less than a colon, originally denoted by comma marks. In antiquity it was defined as a combination of words having no more than eight syllables in all. It was later applied to longer phrases, e.g. the Johannine comma.
  7. 7
    A brief interval.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. No points were used by the ancient printers, excepting the colon and the period; but, after some time, a short oblique stroke, called a virgil, was introduced, which answered to the modern comma. In the fifteenth century this punctuation was improved by the famous Aldus Manutius with the typographical art in general; when he gave a better shape to the com…
  2. Commas (Polygonia comma) and Question Marks (Polygonia interrogationis) occur from the Gulf Coast to Canada and west to the Rockies. [...] Question Marks and Commas are handsome butterflies with burnt orange and black markings. [...] On the underside of each hind wing of the Comma is a small, distinctive silver hook that resembles a comma.

Etymology

From Latin comma, from Ancient Greek κόμμα (kómma), from κόπτω (kóptō, “I cut”).

This word in other languages

coma(Español)virgule(Français)Beistrich(Deutsch)vírgula(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccomma
  • cmoma
  • comam
  • ocmma

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccomma1cmoma2comam2ocmma2
Edit distance from "comma"

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 "comma"?
"comma" is spelled C-O-M-M-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɒmə/.
What does "comma" mean?
As a noun, "comma" means: The punctuation mark ⟨,⟩ used to indicate a set of parts of a sentence or between elements of a list.
What words are commonly confused with "comma"?
"comma" is commonly confused with "comp", "Cora", "Como". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "comma"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "comma" is /ˈkɒmə/. 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 "comma"?
From Latin comma, from Ancient Greek κόμμα (kómma), from κόπτω (kóptō, “I cut”). 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 "comma", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Devin#20,333beech#20,296banjo#20,292dogma#20,340

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list