donkey

/ˈdɒŋki/

//ˈdɒŋki// noun

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

"donkey" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“donkey” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,581. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,581
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
14
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A domestic animal, Equus asinus asinus, similar to a horse.

Corpus desk

Index EN-donkey · donkey · English

donkey · rank #12,581 · 9 variants · 14 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,581
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 14 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH doo

Nearest frequency peer: doo (+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 “donkey”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “donkey” 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).

donkey vs Donny
50% similar
donkey vs Donne
50% similar
donkey vs dorky
67% similar

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

Key facts for donkey
PropertyValue
Headworddonkey
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdɒŋki/
Letters6
Frequency rank#12,581
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs14
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “donkey”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).donkeylands 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 “doo” (#12,582), “discouraged” (#12,579), “downstream” (#12,583). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “donkey” is #12,581. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around donkey (IPA /ˈdɒŋki/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,581 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for donkey, with forms such as "ddonkey", "dnokey", and "dokney". 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 14 confusable-pair relationships, "Donny", "Donne", "dorky", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: The origin is uncertain. Originally a slang term from the late eighteenth century. Perhaps from Middle English *donekie (“a miniature dun horse”), a double diminutive of Middle English don, dun, dunne (a name for a dun horse), equivalent to modern English d… The correct English form is donkey, spelled D-O-N-K-E-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A domestic animal, Equus asinus asinus, similar to a horse.
  2. 2
    A stubborn person.
  3. 3
    A fool.
  4. 4
    A small auxiliary engine.
  5. 5
    A box or chest, especially a toolbox.
  6. 6
    A bad poker player.
  7. 7
    A sailor's storage chest.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Lost last Saturday between twenty and thirty shillings they that have found it please to leave it heare there is five shillings reward by Wm. Roberts that goeth with a Donkey with many thanks
  2. DONKEY, donkey dick, a he, or jack ass, called donkey, perhaps from the Spanish, or don like gravity of that animal, entitled also the king of Spain's trumpeter

Etymology

The origin is uncertain. Originally a slang term from the late eighteenth century. Perhaps from Middle English *donekie (“a miniature dun horse”), a double diminutive of Middle English don, dun, dunne (a name for a dun horse), equivalent to modern English dun (“brownish grey colour”) + -ock (diminutive suffix) + -ie (diminutive suffix), or similarly formed from the given name Duncan. Compare Middle English donning (“a dun horse”), English dunnock. Became more common than the original term ass due to the latter's homophony and partial merger with arse (compare similar development between coney and rabbit).

This word in other languages

asno(Español)âne(Français)Esel(Deutsch)asno(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddonkey
  • dnokey
  • dokney
  • doneky
  • donkeyy
  • donkkey
  • donkye
  • donnkey
  • odnkey

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ddonkey1dnokey2dokney2doneky2donkeyy1donkkey1donkye2donnkey1
Edit distance from "donkey"

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 "donkey"?
"donkey" is spelled D-O-N-K-E-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɒŋki/.
What does "donkey" mean?
As a noun, "donkey" means: A domestic animal, Equus asinus asinus, similar to a horse.
What words are commonly confused with "donkey"?
"donkey" is commonly confused with "Donny", "Donne", "dorky". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "donkey"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "donkey" is /ˈdɒŋki/. 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 "donkey"?
The origin is uncertain. Originally a slang term from the late eighteenth century. Perhaps from Middle English *donekie (“a miniature dun horse”), a double diminutive of Middle English don, dun, dunne (a name for a dun horse), equivalent to modern... 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 "donkey", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Esther#12,593faulty#12,596carrot#12,560canned#12,557

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

bombed9 variantsblossom9 variantsbladder9 variantsgluten9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list