inkling
/ˈɪŋklɪŋ/
"inkling" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“inkling” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #32,867 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #32,867
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Usually preceded by forms of to give: a slight hint, implication, or suggestion given., A vague idea about something.
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 | inkling |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɪŋklɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #32,867 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “inkling” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for inkling is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɪŋklɪŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #32,867 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for inkling, with forms such as "iknling", "inkilng", and "inkkling". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "inning", "inline", "idling", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ningkiling, nyngkiling (“hint, slight indication; mention, whisper”), and then either: * possibly a variant of nikking, nyckyng (“hint, slight indication; mention, whisper”), possibly from nikken (“to mark (a text) for correction (?)”) +… The correct English form is inkling, spelled I-N-K-L-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1Usually preceded by forms of to give: a slight hint, implication, or suggestion given., A vague idea about something.
- 2Often preceded by forms of to get or to have: an imprecise idea or slight knowledge of something; a suspicion.
- 3A desire, an inclination.
Etymology
From Middle English ningkiling, nyngkiling (“hint, slight indication; mention, whisper”), and then either: * possibly a variant of nikking, nyckyng (“hint, slight indication; mention, whisper”), possibly from nikken (“to mark (a text) for correction (?)”) + -ing, -inge (suffix forming gerunds from verbs); or * more likely from the rebracketing of an inklyng as a ninkiling, from Middle English inklen (“to mention (in a low voice); to tell (the truth)”) [and other forms] + -ing, -inge; inklen may be derived from inca, inke (“dread, fear; doubt; danger, risk (?)”), from Old English inca (“doubt, uncertainty; suspicion; fear; cause for complaint, grievance, grudge, ill-will, offence; quarrel; occasion, opportunity”), from Proto-Germanic *inkô (“ache; grief; regret”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eng-, *yenǵ- (“illness”). The English word would then be analysable as inkle + -ing. Sense 3 (“desire, inclination”) may have been influenced by incline (“to tend to believe or do something”) or French enclin (“inclined, prone”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: iknling,inkilng,inkkling,inklign,inklingg,inklinng,inklling,inklnig,inlking,innkling,nikling
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of inkling - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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
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Using “inkling”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-K-L-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɪŋklɪŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “inning” - see the side-by-side comparison. inkling vs inning
- 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.