gene

/d͡ʒiːn/

//d͡ʒiːn// noun

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

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

The verdict

“gene” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,883. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,883
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms which may take several values and (in principle) predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair color.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gene · gene · English

gene · rank #3,883 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,883
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH gaming

Nearest frequency peer: gaming (-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 “gene”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “gene” 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).

gene vs get
50% similar
gene vs gun
50% similar
gene vs gin
50% similar

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

Key facts for gene
PropertyValue
Headwordgene
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/d͡ʒiːn/
Letters4
Frequency rank#3,883
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “gene”

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).genelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “gaming” (#3,882), “glory” (#3,884), “frequency” (#3,881). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gene” is #3,883. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around gene (IPA /d͡ʒiːn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,883 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for gene, with forms such as "egne", "geen", and "genne". 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, "get", "gun", "gin", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From German Gen, from Ancient Greek γενεά (geneá, “generation, descent”), from the aorist infinitive of γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “to come into being”). Coined by Danish botanist Wilhelm Ludwig Johannsen in 1909, in a German-language publication, from the last sy… The correct English form is gene, spelled G-E-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms which may take several values and (in principle) predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair color.
  2. 2
    A segment of DNA or RNA from a cell's or an organism's genome, that may take several forms and thus parameterizes a phenomenon, such as (often) the structure of a protein.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Near-synonym: cistron (often synonymous)
  2. The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.

Etymology

From German Gen, from Ancient Greek γενεά (geneá, “generation, descent”), from the aorist infinitive of γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “to come into being”). Coined by Danish botanist Wilhelm Ludwig Johannsen in 1909, in a German-language publication, from the last syllable of pangene.

This word in other languages

gen(Español)gène(Français)Gen(Deutsch)gene(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • egne
  • geen
  • genne
  • ggene
  • gnee

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gene - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

egne2geen2genne1ggene1gnee2
Edit distance from "gene"

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 "gene"?
"gene" is spelled G-E-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /d͡ʒiːn/.
What does "gene" mean?
As a noun, "gene" means: A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms which may take several values and (in principle) predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair color.
What words are commonly confused with "gene"?
"gene" is commonly confused with "get", "gun", "gin". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "gene"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gene" is /d͡ʒiːn/. 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 "gene"?
From German Gen, from Ancient Greek γενεά (geneá, “generation, descent”), from the aorist infinitive of γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “to come into being”). Coined by Danish botanist Wilhelm Ludwig Johannsen in 1909, in a German-language publication, from t... 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 "gene", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

fate#3,880ears#3,877jean#3,889coat#3,867

Similar misspelling depth

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

tube5 variantsEPIC5 variantsexit5 variantshook5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list