congratulate

/kənˈɡɹæt͡ʃ.ʊˌleɪt/

//kənˈɡɹæt͡ʃ.ʊˌleɪt// verb

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

"congratulate" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“congratulate” has 18 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,122. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,122
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
18
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To express one’s sympathetic pleasure or joy to the person(s) it is felt for

Corpus desk

Index EN-congratulate · congratulate · English

congratulate · rank #13,122 · 18 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,122
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 18 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH conditional

Nearest frequency peer: conditional (-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 “congratulate”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “congratulate” 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
Key facts for congratulate
PropertyValue
Headwordcongratulate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kənˈɡɹæt͡ʃ.ʊˌleɪt/
Letters12
Frequency rank#13,122
Misspellings tracked18
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “congratulate”

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).congratulatelands 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 “conditional” (#13,121), “constructing” (#13,123), “compatibility” (#13,120). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “congratulate” is #13,122. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 18 spelling variants around congratulate (IPA /kənˈɡɹæt͡ʃ.ʊˌleɪt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #13,122 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for congratulate, with forms such as "ccongratulate", "cnogratulate", and "cognratulate". 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. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1548; borrowed from Latin congrātulātus, the perfect active participle of Latin grātulor (“to wish joice, rejoice (with); to congratulate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from con- + grātulor, from grātus (“grateful, pleasing, agreeable… The correct English form is congratulate, spelled C-O-N-G-R-A-T-U-L-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To express one’s sympathetic pleasure or joy to the person(s) it is felt for
  2. 2
    To consider oneself fortunate in some matter.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Remind me to congratulate Dave and Lisa on their wedding.
  2. We must congratulate Dave and Lisa on getting married.

Etymology

First attested in 1548; borrowed from Latin congrātulātus, the perfect active participle of Latin grātulor (“to wish joice, rejoice (with); to congratulate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from con- + grātulor, from grātus (“grateful, pleasing, agreeable, beloved”) + -or. By surface analysis, con- + gratulate.

This word in other languages

felicitar(Español)féliciter(Français)gratulieren(Deutsch)parabenizar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccongratulate
  • cnogratulate
  • cognratulate
  • congartulate
  • conggratulate
  • congratluate
  • congrattulate
  • congratualte
  • congratulaet
  • congratulatte
  • congratullate
  • congratultae
  • congrautlate
  • congrratulate
  • congrtaulate
  • conngratulate
  • conrgatulate
  • ocngratulate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccongratulate1cnogratulate2cognratulate2congartulate2conggratulate1congratluate2congrattulate1congratualte2
Edit distance from "congratulate"

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 "congratulate"?
"congratulate" is spelled C-O-N-G-R-A-T-U-L-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kənˈɡɹæt͡ʃ.ʊˌleɪt/.
What does "congratulate" mean?
As a verb, "congratulate" means: To express one’s sympathetic pleasure or joy to the person(s) it is felt for
What are common misspellings of "congratulate"?
Common misspellings include "ccongratulate", "cnogratulate", "cognratulate", "congartulate", "conggratulate". The correct spelling is "congratulate".
How do you pronounce "congratulate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "congratulate" is /kənˈɡɹæt͡ʃ.ʊˌleɪt/. 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 "congratulate"?
First attested in 1548; borrowed from Latin congrātulātus, the perfect active participle of Latin grātulor (“to wish joice, rejoice (with); to congratulate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from con- + grātulor, from grātus (“grateful, pleasing,... 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 "congratulate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

constructing#13,123coordinating#13,125fundamentals#13,153accumulation#13,085

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (18 here; floor ≥5).

authoritarian18 variantstestosterone18 variantsproportional18 variantsresemblance18 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list