fine

/faɪn/

//faɪn// adj

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

"fine" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fine” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #586. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#586
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Senses referring to subjective quality.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fine · fine · English

fine · rank #586 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #586
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH fight

Nearest frequency peer: fight (-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 “fine”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “fine” 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).

fine vs FN
0% similar
fine vs fun
50% similar
fine vs fit
50% similar

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

Key facts for fine
PropertyValue
Headwordfine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/faɪn/
Letters4
Frequency rank#586
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fine”

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).finelands 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 “fight” (#585), “force” (#587), “energy” (#584). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fine” is #586. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around fine (IPA /faɪn/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #586 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 16 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for fine, with forms such as "ffine", "fien", and "finne". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "FN", "fun", "fit", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English fin, fyn, from Old French fin (“fine, minute, exact”), of obscure origin, but probably derived from Latin fīnīre (“to finish”) or fīnis (“boundary, limit, end”), with an abstract sense of fine or thin also arising in many Romance languag… The correct English form is fine, spelled F-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Senses referring to subjective quality.
  2. 2
    Senses referring to subjective quality.
  3. 3
    Senses referring to subjective quality.
  4. 4
    Senses referring to subjective quality.
  5. 5
    Senses referring to subjective quality.
  6. 6
    Senses referring to subjective quality.
  7. 7
    Senses referring to subjective quality.
  8. 8
    Senses referring to subjective quality.
  9. 9
    Senses referring to objective quality.
  10. 10
    Senses referring to objective quality.
  11. 11
    Senses referring to objective quality.
  12. 12
    Senses referring to objective quality.
  13. 13
    Senses referring to objective quality.
  14. 14
    Senses referring to objective quality.
  15. 15
    Behind the batsman and at a small angle to the line between the wickets.
  16. 16
    Subtle; thin; tenuous.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The tree frog that they encountered was truly a fine specimen.
  2. Only a really fine wine could fully complement Lucía's hand-made pasta.

Etymology

From Middle English fin, fyn, from Old French fin (“fine, minute, exact”), of obscure origin, but probably derived from Latin fīnīre (“to finish”) or fīnis (“boundary, limit, end”), with an abstract sense of fine or thin also arising in many Romance languages (compare Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian fino). Doublet of fino.

This word in other languages

fino(Español)fin(Français)fein(Deutsch)bom(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffine
  • fien
  • finne
  • fnie
  • ifne

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ffine1fien2finne1fnie2ifne2
Edit distance from "fine"

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 "fine"?
"fine" is spelled F-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /faɪn/.
What does "fine" mean?
As an adjective, "fine" means: Senses referring to subjective quality.
What words are commonly confused with "fine"?
"fine" is commonly confused with "FN", "fun", "fit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fine" is /faɪn/. 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 "fine"?
From Middle English fin, fyn, from Old French fin (“fine, minute, exact”), of obscure origin, but probably derived from Latin fīnīre (“to finish”) or fīnis (“boundary, limit, end”), with an abstract sense of fine or thin also arising in many Roman... 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 "fine", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hear#588town#580rest#594road#577

Similar misspelling depth

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

wife5 variantsdate5 variantsgoes5 variantsgave5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list