genuine
/ˈd͡ʒɛnjuːˌɪn/
"genuine" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“genuine” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,811 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #3,811
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Belonging to, or proceeding from the original stock; native
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 | genuine |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈd͡ʒɛnjuːˌɪn/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #3,811 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “genuine” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for genuine is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈd͡ʒɛnjuːˌɪn/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,811 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for genuine, with forms such as "egnuine", "geniune", and "gennuine". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "genuinely", "genie", "gentile", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin genuīnus (“innate, native, natural”), from genus, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-. The correct English form is genuine, spelled G-E-N-U-I-N-E.
Definition
- 1Belonging to, or proceeding from the original stock; native
- 2Not counterfeit, spurious, false, or adulterated
Etymology
From Latin genuīnus (“innate, native, natural”), from genus, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: egnuine,geniune,gennuine,genuien,genuinne,genunie,geunine,ggenuine,gneuine
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of genuine - 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 "genuine"?
What does "genuine" mean?
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Using “genuine”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-E-N-U-I-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈd͡ʒɛnjuːˌɪn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “genuinely” - see the side-by-side comparison. genuine vs genuinely
- 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.