family

/ˈfæ.m(ɪ.)li/

//ˈfæ.m(ɪ.)li// noun

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

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

The verdict

“family” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #205. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#205
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A group of people who are closely related to one another (by blood, marriage or adoption); kin; in particular, a set of parents and their children; an immediate family.

Corpus desk

Index EN-family · family · English

family · rank #205 · 9 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #205
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH ever

Nearest frequency peer: ever (-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 “family”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “family” 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).

family vs famine
67% similar
family vs fail
67% similar
family vs fails
67% similar

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

Key facts for family
PropertyValue
Headwordfamily
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfæ.m(ɪ.)li/
Letters6
Frequency rank#205
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “family”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “ever” (#204), “keep” (#206), “team” (#203). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “family” is #205. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around family (IPA /ˈfæ.m(ɪ.)li/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #205 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for family, with forms such as "afmily", "faimly", and "familly". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "famine", "fail", "fails", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Middle English famylye, from Latin familia (“a household”). Displaced native Old English hīred. Doublet of familia. The correct English form is family, spelled F-A-M-I-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A group of people who are closely related to one another (by blood, marriage or adoption); kin; in particular, a set of parents and their children; an immediate family.
  2. 2
    An extended family: a group of people who are related to one another by blood or marriage.
  3. 3
    A nuclear family: a mother and father who are married and cohabiting and their child or children.
  4. 4
    Members of one's family collectively.
  5. 5
    A (close-knit) group of people related by blood, friendship, marriage, law, or custom, especially if they live or work together.
  6. 6
    A (close-knit) group of people related by blood, friendship, marriage, law, or custom, especially if they live or work together.
  7. 7
    Lineage, especially honorable or noble lineage.
  8. 8
    Any group or aggregation of things classed together as kindred or related from possessing in common characteristics which distinguish them from other things of the same order.
  9. 9
    Any group or aggregation of things classed together as kindred or related from possessing in common characteristics which distinguish them from other things of the same order.
  10. 10
    Any group or aggregation of things classed together as kindred or related from possessing in common characteristics which distinguish them from other things of the same order.
  11. 11
    Any group or aggregation of things classed together as kindred or related from possessing in common characteristics which distinguish them from other things of the same order.
  12. 12
    Any group or aggregation of things classed together as kindred or related from possessing in common characteristics which distinguish them from other things of the same order.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Our family lives in town.
  2. To Jane, he could be only a man whose proposals she had refused, and whose merit she had undervalued; but to her own more extensive information, he was the person, to whom the whole family were indebted for the first of benefits, and whom she regarded herself with an interest, if not quite so tender, at least as reasonable and just, as what Jane felt for…

Etymology

From Late Middle English famylye, from Latin familia (“a household”). Displaced native Old English hīred. Doublet of familia.

Synonyms

flesh and bloodkinkinfolkfamclass

This word in other languages

familia(Español)famille(Français)Familie(Deutsch)família(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afmily
  • faimly
  • familly
  • familyy
  • famiyl
  • famliy
  • fammily
  • ffamily
  • fmaily

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

afmily2faimly2familly1familyy1famiyl2famliy2fammily1ffamily1
Edit distance from "family"

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 "family"?
"family" is spelled F-A-M-I-L-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfæ.m(ɪ.)li/.
What does "family" mean?
As a noun, "family" means: A group of people who are closely related to one another (by blood, marriage or adoption); kin; in particular, a set of parents and their children; an immediate family.
What words are commonly confused with "family"?
"family" is commonly confused with "famine", "fail", "fails". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "family"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "family" is /ˈfæ.m(ɪ.)li/. 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 "family"?
From Late Middle English famylye, from Latin familia (“a household”). Displaced native Old English hīred. Doublet of familia. 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 "family", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

please#208second#212didn't#195number#216

Similar misspelling depth

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

someone9 variantsschool9 variantsduring9 variantshaving9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list