hymnal

/ˈhɪmnəl/

//ˈhɪmnəl// noun

"hymnal" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hymnal” is uncommon English (frequency #64,432 among 23,837 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,432
frequency rank, English
23,837
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A collection of hymns; a hymn book.

Key facts for hymnal
PropertyValue
Headwordhymnal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhɪmnəl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#64,432
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hymnal” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). hymnal lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

hymnal is uncommon English at frequency #64,432 among 23,837 “H” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈhɪmnəl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A collection of hymns; a hymn book.".

No misspelling variants are generated for hymnal in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hymnale, from Medieval Latin hymnāle, noun use of neuter of hymnālis. The correct English form is hymnal, spelled H-Y-M-N-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A collection of hymns; a hymn book.

Etymology

From Middle English hymnale, from Medieval Latin hymnāle, noun use of neuter of hymnālis.

Synonyms

hymnaryhymnbookhymn-bookhymn book

This word in other languages

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 "hymnal"?
"hymnal" is spelled H-Y-M-N-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhɪmnəl/.
What does "hymnal" mean?
As a noun, "hymnal" means: A collection of hymns; a hymn book.
How do you pronounce "hymnal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hymnal" is /ˈhɪmnəl/. 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 "hymnal"?
From Middle English hymnale, from Medieval Latin hymnāle, noun use of neuter of hymnālis. 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.

Using “hymnal”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is H-Y-M-N-A-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈhɪmnəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list