fair dinkum

[ˌfeː ˈdɪŋ.kəm]

/[ˌfeː ˈdɪŋ.kəm]/ adj

"fair-dinkum" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fair dinkum” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Genuine, honest, fair and square.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fair-dinkum · fair dinkum · English

fair dinkum · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "F" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for fair dinkum
PropertyValue
Headwordfair dinkum
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˌfeː ˈdɪŋ.kəm]
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “fair dinkum” in English

fair dinkumsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

fair dinkum is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed [ˌfeː ˈdɪŋ.kəm]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Genuine, honest, fair and square.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for fair dinkum in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: see dinkum. The correct English form is fair dinkum, spelled F-A-I-R- -D-I-N-K-U-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Genuine, honest, fair and square.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Are you fair dinkum?
  2. I mean, if they were out at a concert or something, or if they were involved in some other out-of-school social activity and some fair dinkum Aussie bloke, with a fair dinkum Aussie accent, and a fair dinkum Aussie hat, preferably chewing on a fair dinkum gum leaf, and holding a koala bear in one hand and a kangaroo in the other stood up and delivered tho…

Etymology

see dinkum.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fair dinkum"?
"fair dinkum" is spelled F-A-I-R- -D-I-N-K-U-M. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌfeː ˈdɪŋ.kəm].
What does "fair dinkum" mean?
As an adjective, "fair dinkum" means: Genuine, honest, fair and square.
How do you pronounce "fair dinkum"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fair dinkum" is [ˌfeː ˈdɪŋ.kəm]. 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 "fair dinkum"?
see dinkum. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list