incognito
/ˌɪnkɒɡˈniːtoʊ/
"incognito" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“incognito” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #26,833 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #26,833
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Without being known; in an assumed character, or under an assumed title; in disguise.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | incognito |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌɪnkɒɡˈniːtoʊ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #26,833 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “incognito” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for incognito is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌɪnkɒɡˈniːtoʊ/. Corpus data places it at rank #26,833 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Without being known; in an assumed character, or under an assumed title; in disguise.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for incognito, with forms such as "icnognito", "inccognito", and "incgonito". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Italian incognito, from Latin incognitus (“unknown”), from in- (“not”) + cognitus (“known”), perfect passive participle of cognoscere. The correct English form is incognito, spelled I-N-C-O-G-N-I-T-O.
Definition
- 1Without being known; in an assumed character, or under an assumed title; in disguise.
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian incognito, from Latin incognitus (“unknown”), from in- (“not”) + cognitus (“known”), perfect passive participle of cognoscere.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: icnognito,inccognito,incgonito,incoggnito,incoginto,incogniot,incognitto,incognnito,incogntio,incongito,inncognito,inocgnito,nicognito
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of incognito - 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 "incognito"?
What does "incognito" mean?
What are common misspellings of "incognito"?
How do you pronounce "incognito"?
What is the origin of the word "incognito"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “incognito”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-C-O-G-N-I-T-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌɪnkɒɡˈniːtoʊ/ (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
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.