heathen

/ˈhiːðən/

//ˈhiːðən// adj

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

"heathen" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“heathen” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #25,405. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,405
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Not adhering to an Abrahamic religion; pagan.

Corpus desk

Index EN-heathen · heathen · English

heathen · rank #25,405 · 10 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,405
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hearth

Nearest frequency peer: hearth (-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 “heathen”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “heathen” 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).

heathen vs heaven
71% similar
heathen vs Heaton
57% similar
heathen vs heather
86% similar

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

Key facts for heathen
PropertyValue
Headwordheathen
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈhiːðən/
Letters7
Frequency rank#25,405
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “heathen”

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).heathenlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “hearth” (#25,404), “hemorrhage” (#25,406), “hereafter” (#25,407). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “heathen” is #25,405. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around heathen (IPA /ˈhiːðən/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #25,405 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for heathen, with forms such as "ehathen", "haethen", and "heahten". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "heaven", "Heaton", "heather", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hethen, from Old English hǣþen, from Proto-West Germanic *haiþin, from Proto-Germanic *haiþīnaz (“heathen, pagan”, adjective), equivalent to heath (“heathland”) + -en. Cognate with West Frisian heiden, Dutch heiden, Middle High German he… The correct English form is heathen, spelled H-E-A-T-H-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Not adhering to an Abrahamic religion; pagan.
  2. 2
    Uncultured; uncivilized; savage; barbarian.
  3. 3
    Alternative letter-case form of Heathen (pertaining or adhering to the Germanic neo-pagan faith Heathenry).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. War of holy principles I'm seeking God's help in your destruction Slit the throat of heathen man And let his blood dilute the water, bury your dead

Etymology

From Middle English hethen, from Old English hǣþen, from Proto-West Germanic *haiþin, from Proto-Germanic *haiþīnaz (“heathen, pagan”, adjective), equivalent to heath (“heathland”) + -en. Cognate with West Frisian heiden, Dutch heiden, Middle High German heiden, German Heiden, German Heide, Swedish heden, Danish hedensk (from heden+sk), Icelandic heiðinn. See also Proto-Germanic *haiduz, Old Norse heiðr (honour, bright, moor), Icelandic heiður (honour).

This word in other languages

pagano(Español)païen(Français)heidnisch(Deutsch)pagão(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ehathen
  • haethen
  • heahten
  • heatehn
  • heathenn
  • heathhen
  • heathne
  • heatthen
  • hetahen
  • hheathen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

ehathen2haethen2heahten2heatehn2heathenn1heathhen1heathne2heatthen1
Edit distance from "heathen"

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 "heathen"?
"heathen" is spelled H-E-A-T-H-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhiːðən/.
What does "heathen" mean?
As an adjective, "heathen" means: Not adhering to an Abrahamic religion; pagan.
What words are commonly confused with "heathen"?
"heathen" is commonly confused with "heaven", "Heaton", "heather". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "heathen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "heathen" is /ˈhiːðən/. 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 "heathen"?
From Middle English hethen, from Old English hǣþen, from Proto-West Germanic *haiþin, from Proto-Germanic *haiþīnaz (“heathen, pagan”, adjective), equivalent to heath (“heathland”) + -en. Cognate with West Frisian heiden, Dutch heiden, Middle High... 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 "heathen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hinting#25,410impeach#25,421flicker#25,386eyeball#25,382

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Giuliani10 variantsflimsy10 variantsironing10 variantsKearney10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list