difficulties

/ˈdɪfɪkəltiz/

//ˈdɪfɪkəltiz// noun

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

"difficulties" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“difficulties” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,026. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,026
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
16
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - plural of difficulty

Corpus desk

Index EN-difficulties · difficulties · English

difficulties · rank #5,026 · 16 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,026
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH detective

Nearest frequency peer: detective (-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 neighbourhood for “difficulties”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “difficulties” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for difficulties
PropertyValue
Headworddifficulties
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdɪfɪkəltiz/
Letters12
Frequency rank#5,026
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “difficulties” sits in English frequency

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “detective” (#5,025), “disability” (#5,027), “declined” (#5,024). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around difficulties (IPA /ˈdɪfɪkəltiz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,026 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "plural of difficulty".

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for difficulties, with forms such as "ddifficulties", "dfificulties", and "diffciulties". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is difficulties, spelled D-I-F-F-I-C-U-L-T-I-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    plural of difficulty

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddifficulties
  • dfificulties
  • diffciulties
  • difficculties
  • difficluties
  • difficulites
  • difficullties
  • difficulteis
  • difficultiess
  • difficultise
  • difficultties
  • difficutlies
  • diffiuclties
  • dificulties
  • dififculties
  • idfficulties

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddifficulties1dfificulties2diffciulties2difficculties1difficluties2difficulites2difficullties1difficulteis2
Edit distance from "difficulties"

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 "difficulties"?
"difficulties" is spelled D-I-F-F-I-C-U-L-T-I-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɪfɪkəltiz/.
What does "difficulties" mean?
As a noun, "difficulties" means: plural of difficulty
What are common misspellings of "difficulties"?
Common misspellings include "ddifficulties", "dfificulties", "diffciulties", "difficculties", "difficluties". The correct spelling is "difficulties".
How do you pronounce "difficulties"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "difficulties" is /ˈdɪfɪkəltiz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "difficulties" come from?
"difficulties" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "difficulties", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

unemployment#4,994transactions#4,991manufacturer#5,062negotiations#5,066

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

vulnerable16 variantsimagination16 variantscompletion16 variantsphotograph16 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "difficulties". Here's where to go from here.

  • 16 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #5,026 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "D" letter cohort. D–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list