Filipino
/filiˈpino/
"filipino" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Filipino” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #11,546 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #11,546
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A citizen or inhabitant of the Philippines, or descendant of such.
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 | Filipino |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /filiˈpino/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #11,546 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Filipino” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Filipino is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /filiˈpino/. Corpus data places it at rank #11,546 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Filipino, with forms such as "ffilipino", "fiilpino", and "filiipno". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Filipina", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Spanish filipino m, from Felipe + -ino, demonym to Spanish las Islas Filipinas (“The Philippine Islands (P.I.); The Philippines”), after Spanish El Rey Felipe II de España (“King Philip II of Spain”). The Spanish term formerly only referred to a male P… The correct English form is Filipino, spelled F-I-L-I-P-I-N-O.
Definition
- 1A citizen or inhabitant of the Philippines, or descendant of such.
- 2Specifically a male citizen or inhabitant of the Philippines.
- 3A male Philippine-born person of pure or majority Spanish descent.
Etymology
From Spanish filipino m, from Felipe + -ino, demonym to Spanish las Islas Filipinas (“The Philippine Islands (P.I.); The Philippines”), after Spanish El Rey Felipe II de España (“King Philip II of Spain”). The Spanish term formerly only referred to a male Philippine-born person of pure or majority Spanish descent, synonym to Spanish insular (“islander”) (plural insulares) in the Spanish Colonial Era of the Philippines, before it was applied as a nationality for every citizen of the Philippines from the First Philippine Republic during the Philippine Revolution.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ffilipino,fiilpino,filiipno,filipinno,filipion,filipnio,filippino,fillipino,filpiino,fliipino,iflipino
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Filipino - 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
How do you spell "Filipino"?
What does "Filipino" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Filipino"?
How do you pronounce "Filipino"?
What is the origin of the word "Filipino"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Filipino”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-I-L-I-P-I-N-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /filiˈpino/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Filipina” - see the side-by-side comparison. Filipino vs Filipina
- 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.