curtain

/ˈkɜːtn̩/

//ˈkɜːtn̩// noun

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

"curtain" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“curtain” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,776. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,776
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A piece of cloth covering a window, bed, etc. to offer privacy and keep out light.

Corpus desk

Index EN-curtain · curtain · English

curtain · rank #8,776 · 10 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,776
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH crosses

Nearest frequency peer: crosses (-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 “curtain”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “curtain” 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).

curtain vs Curtis
57% similar
curtain vs Curtin
71% similar
curtain vs curtains
88% similar

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

Key facts for curtain
PropertyValue
Headwordcurtain
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɜːtn̩/
Letters7
Frequency rank#8,776
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “curtain”

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).curtainlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “crosses” (#8,775), “curves” (#8,777), “COVID” (#8,774). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “curtain” is #8,776. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around curtain (IPA /ˈkɜːtn̩/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,776 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for curtain, with forms such as "ccurtain", "crutain", and "curatin". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "Curtis", "Curtin", "curtains", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English curtine, from Old French cortine, from Late Latin cōrtīna (“curtain”), a calque from Ancient Greek. The correct English form is curtain, spelled C-U-R-T-A-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A piece of cloth covering a window, bed, etc. to offer privacy and keep out light.
  2. 2
    A similar piece of cloth that separates the audience and the stage in a theater.
  3. 3
    The beginning of a show; the moment the curtain rises.
  4. 4
    The flat area of wall which connects two bastions or towers; the main area of a fortified wall.
  5. 5
    Death, final curtain.
  6. 6
    That part of a wall of a building which is between two pavilions, towers, etc.
  7. 7
    A flag; an ensign.
  8. 8
    The uninterrupted stream of fluid that falls onto a moving substrate in the process of curtain coating.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He drew the curtains at 11:00pm before falling asleep.
  2. Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; as, again, the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into…

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English curtine, from Old French cortine, from Late Latin cōrtīna (“curtain”), a calque from Ancient Greek.

This word in other languages

cortina(Español)rideau(Français)Vorhang(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccurtain
  • crutain
  • curatin
  • currtain
  • curtainn
  • curtani
  • curtian
  • curttain
  • cutrain
  • ucrtain

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ccurtain1crutain2curatin2currtain1curtainn1curtani2curtian2curttain1
Edit distance from "curtain"

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 "curtain"?
"curtain" is spelled C-U-R-T-A-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɜːtn̩/.
What does "curtain" mean?
As a noun, "curtain" means: A piece of cloth covering a window, bed, etc. to offer privacy and keep out light.
What words are commonly confused with "curtain"?
"curtain" is commonly confused with "Curtis", "Curtin", "curtains". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "curtain"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "curtain" is /ˈkɜːtn̩/. 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 "curtain"?
Inherited from Middle English curtine, from Old French cortine, from Late Latin cōrtīna (“curtain”), a calque from Ancient Greek. 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 "curtain", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

crosses#8,775dentist#8,781fatigue#8,789booking#8,760

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

fragile10 variantsgranite10 variantsAlberta10 variantsuncommon10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list