fairy
/ˈfɛəɹi/
"fairy" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“fairy” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,242 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #6,242
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The realm of faerie; enchantment, illusion.
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 | fairy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈfɛəɹi/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #6,242 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “fairy” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for fairy is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfɛəɹi/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,242 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for fairy, with forms such as "afiry", "fairry", and "fairyy". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "far", "fry", "fir", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English faierie, fairie, from Old French faerie, from fae + -erie, from Latin fāta (“goddess of fate”). Equivalent to fay + -ry. Attested in English from about 1330, in King Alisaunder, first in the sense of "enchantment, illusion, dream" ("that… The correct English form is fairy, spelled F-A-I-R-Y.
Definition
- 1The realm of faerie; enchantment, illusion.
- 2A mythical being of human form with magical powers, known in many sizes and descriptions, although often depicted in modern illustrations only as a small sprite with gauze-like wings, especially one that is female. Fairies are revered in some modern forms of paganism.
- 3An enchantress, or creature of overpowering charm.
- 4An attractive young woman.
- 5A male homosexual, especially one who is effeminate.
- 6An effeminate man or boy.
- 7A member of two species of hummingbird in the genus Heliothryx.
- 8A legendary Chinese immortal.
Etymology
From Middle English faierie, fairie, from Old French faerie, from fae + -erie, from Latin fāta (“goddess of fate”). Equivalent to fay + -ry. Attested in English from about 1330, in King Alisaunder, first in the sense of "enchantment, illusion, dream" ("that thou herdest is fairye") and shortly thereafter "realm of the fays, fairy-land" and "the inhabitants of fairyland, collectively". The re-interpretation of the term as a countable noun denoting individual inhabitants of fairy-land can be traced to the 1390s, but became common only in the 16th century, perhaps due to reinterpreting phrases like faerie knight.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: afiry,fairry,fairyy,faiyr,fariy,ffairy,fiary
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fairy - 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.
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 “fairy”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-A-I-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfɛəɹi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “far” - see the side-by-side comparison. fairy vs far
- 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.