curry

/ˈkʌ.ɹi/

//ˈkʌ.ɹi// noun

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

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

The verdict

“curry” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,550. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,550
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One of a family of dishes originating from Indian cuisine, flavored by a spiced sauce.

Corpus desk

Index EN-curry · curry · English

curry · rank #7,550 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,550
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH countless

Nearest frequency peer: countless (-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 “curry”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “curry” 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).

curry vs curt
60% similar
curry vs curve
60% similar
curry vs curse
60% similar

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

Key facts for curry
PropertyValue
Headwordcurry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkʌ.ɹi/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,550
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “curry”

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).currylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “countless” (#7,549), “dame” (#7,551), “cooler” (#7,548). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “curry” is #7,550. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around curry (IPA /ˈkʌ.ɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,550 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for curry, with forms such as "ccurry", "crury", and "curryy". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "curt", "curve", "curse", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 1747 (as currey, first published recipe for the dish in English), from Tamil கறி (kaṟi), influenced by existing Middle English cury (“cooking”), from Middle French cuyre (“to cook”) (whence also cuisine), from Vulgar Latin cocere, from Latin coquere. Earlie… The correct English form is curry, spelled C-U-R-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    One of a family of dishes originating from Indian cuisine, flavored by a spiced sauce.
  2. 2
    A spiced sauce or relish, especially one flavored with curry powder.
  3. 3
    Curry powder.
  4. 4
    A person of South Asian heritage.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. […] while another tells us that white women “are also THE most racist group of foids. they would rather put a bullet through their brain than date a curry or sandcel.”
  2. For example, spicycurry says, “STOP THE COPE NOW. The only ones who should be complaining about race are us curries who are literally at the bottom of the pile.”

Etymology

1747 (as currey, first published recipe for the dish in English), from Tamil கறி (kaṟi), influenced by existing Middle English cury (“cooking”), from Middle French cuyre (“to cook”) (whence also cuisine), from Vulgar Latin cocere, from Latin coquere. Earlier cury found in 1390 cookbook Forme of Cury (Forms of Cooking) by court chefs of Richard II of England.

This word in other languages

curri(Español)curry(Français)Curry(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccurry
  • crury
  • curryy
  • cury
  • curyr
  • ucrry

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccurry1crury2curryy1cury1curyr2ucrry2
Edit distance from "curry"

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 "curry"?
"curry" is spelled C-U-R-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkʌ.ɹi/.
What does "curry" mean?
As a noun, "curry" means: One of a family of dishes originating from Indian cuisine, flavored by a spiced sauce.
What words are commonly confused with "curry"?
"curry" is commonly confused with "curt", "curve", "curse". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "curry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "curry" is /ˈkʌ.ɹi/. 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 "curry"?
1747 (as currey, first published recipe for the dish in English), from Tamil கறி (kaṟi), influenced by existing Middle English cury (“cooking”), from Middle French cuyre (“to cook”) (whence also cuisine), from Vulgar Latin cocere, from Latin coque... 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 "curry", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

drake#7,557cheek#7,535Casey#7,534Janet#7,572

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Chen6 variantsKatie6 variantsmelt6 variantssteak6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list