decaf
/ˈdiːkæf/
"decaf" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“decaf” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #45,317 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #45,317
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - That has caffeine removed.
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 | decaf |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈdiːkæf/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #45,317 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “decaf” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for decaf is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈdiːkæf/. Corpus data places it at rank #45,317 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "That has caffeine removed.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for decaf, with forms such as "dceaf", "ddecaf", and "deacf". 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, "def", "deck", "deco", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Clipping of decaffeinated. The correct English form is decaf, spelled D-E-C-A-F.
Definition
- 1That has caffeine removed.
Etymology
Clipping of decaffeinated.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: dceaf,ddecaf,deacf,decaff,deccaf,decfa,edcaf
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of decaf - 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.
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
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Using “decaf”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-E-C-A-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈdiːkæf/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “def” - see the side-by-side comparison. decaf vs def
- 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.