congenital

/kənˈdʒɛnɪt(ə)l/

//kənˈdʒɛnɪt(ə)l// adj

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

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

The verdict

“congenital” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,796. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,796
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Present since birth.

Corpus desk

Index EN-congenital · congenital · English

congenital · rank #19,796 · 15 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #19,796
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH compulsive

Nearest frequency peer: compulsive (-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 “congenital”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “congenital” 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).

congenital vs congenial
90% similar

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

Key facts for congenital
PropertyValue
Headwordcongenital
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/kənˈdʒɛnɪt(ə)l/
Letters10
Frequency rank#19,796
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “congenital”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “compulsive” (#19,795), “construed” (#19,797), “complexion” (#19,794). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “congenital” is #19,796. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around congenital (IPA /kənˈdʒɛnɪt(ə)l/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #19,796 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Present since birth.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for congenital, with forms such as "ccongenital", "cnogenital", and "cognenital". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "congenial", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin congenitus + -al. The correct English form is congenital, spelled C-O-N-G-E-N-I-T-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Present since birth.

Etymology

From Latin congenitus + -al.

This word in other languages

congénito(Español)congénital(Français)angeboren(Deutsch)congênito(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccongenital
  • cnogenital
  • cognenital
  • conegnital
  • congeintal
  • congeniatl
  • congenitall
  • congenitla
  • congenittal
  • congennital
  • congential
  • conggenital
  • congneital
  • conngenital
  • ocngenital

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccongenital1cnogenital2cognenital2conegnital2congeintal2congeniatl2congenitall1congenitla2
Edit distance from "congenital"

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 "congenital"?
"congenital" is spelled C-O-N-G-E-N-I-T-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /kənˈdʒɛnɪt(ə)l/.
What does "congenital" mean?
As an adjective, "congenital" means: Present since birth.
What words are commonly confused with "congenital"?
"congenital" is commonly confused with "congenial". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "congenital"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "congenital" is /kənˈdʒɛnɪt(ə)l/. 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 "congenital"?
From Latin congenitus + -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 "congenital", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

compulsive#19,795complexion#19,794corrective#19,799dishwasher#19,816

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

crumbling15 variantsbelievable15 variantsgenerously15 variantshousekeeper15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list