coon

/kun/

//kun// noun

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

"coon" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“coon” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #26,380) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#26,380
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A black person.

Corpus desk

Index EN-coon · coon · English

coon · rank #26,380 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #26,380
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH conventionally

Nearest frequency peer: conventionally (-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 “coon”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “coon” 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).

coon vs cop
50% similar
coon vs cow
50% similar
coon vs cos
50% similar

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

Key facts for coon
PropertyValue
Headwordcoon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kun/
Letters4
Frequency rank#26,380
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “coon”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “conventionally” (#26,379), “comptroller” (#26,378), “creole” (#26,382). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “coon” is #26,380. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for coon is neighbouring look-alikes ("cop", "cow", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /kun/. Frequency #26,380 among 5,599 “C” headwords. 7 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for coon, with forms such as "ccoon", "cono", and "coonn". 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, "cop", "cow", "cos", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Clipping of raccoon. The correct English form is coon, spelled C-O-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A black person.
  2. 2
    A raccoon.
  3. 3
    a black race traitor.
  4. 4
    A member of a colorfully dressed dance troupe in Cape Town during New Year celebrations.
  5. 5
    A coonass; a white Acadian French person who lives in the swamps.
  6. 6
    A sly fellow.
  7. 7
    A black person who "plays the coon"; that is, who plays the dated stereotype of a black fool for an audience, particularly including Caucasians.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. And that one looks Jewish, and that one's a coon! Who let all this riff-raff into the room?
  2. 1865, Henry David Thoreau, Cape Cod, Chapter IX. "The Sea and the Desert", page 187. He also said that minks, muskrats, foxes, coons, and wild mice were found there, but no squirrels.

Etymology

Clipping of raccoon.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccoon
  • cono
  • coonn
  • ocon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccoon1cono2coonn1ocon2
Edit distance from "coon"

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 "coon"?
"coon" is spelled C-O-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /kun/.
What does "coon" mean?
As a noun, "coon" means: A black person.
What words are commonly confused with "coon"?
"coon" is commonly confused with "cop", "cow", "cos". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "coon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "coon" is /kun/. 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 "coon"?
Clipping of raccoon. 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 "coon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

devi#26,397boyz#26,351exes#26,415blob#26,344

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list