coon
/kun/
"coon" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“coon” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #26,380 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #26,380
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 4
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A black person.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | coon |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kun/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #26,380 |
| Misspellings tracked | 4 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “coon” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for coon is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kun/. Corpus data places it at rank #26,380 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1A black person.
- 2A raccoon.
- 3a black race traitor.
- 4A member of a colorfully dressed dance troupe in Cape Town during New Year celebrations.
- 5A coonass; a white Acadian French person who lives in the swamps.
- 6A sly fellow.
- 7A black person who "plays the coon"; that is, who plays the dated stereotype of a black fool for an audience, particularly including Caucasians.
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.
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"?
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Using “coon”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-O-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kun/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “cop” - see the side-by-side comparison. coon vs cop
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.