instruction
/ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/
"instruction" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“instruction” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #5,696 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #5,696
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
- 18
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of instructing, teaching, or providing with information or knowledge.
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 | instruction |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #5,696 |
| Misspellings tracked | 18 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “instruction” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for instruction is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #5,696 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for instruction, with forms such as "innstruction", "insrtuction", and "insstruction". 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 also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "instructor", "instructive", "instructions", 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 instruccioun, from Old French instruccion, from Latin instructio; equivalent to instruct + -ion. The correct English form is instruction, spelled I-N-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The act of instructing, teaching, or providing with information or knowledge.
- 2An instance of the information or knowledge so furnished.
- 3An order or command.
- 4A set of directions provided by a manufacturer for the users of a product or service.
- 5The directions given by a client to their lawyer in relation to a particular legal matter, which govern the purpose and scope of their work.
- 6A single operation of a processor defined by an instruction set architecture.
Etymology
From Middle English instruccioun, from Old French instruccion, from Latin instructio; equivalent to instruct + -ion.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: innstruction,insrtuction,insstruction,instrcution,instrruction,instrucction,instruciton,instrucsion,instructino,instructionn,instructoin,instructtion,instrutcion,insttruction,insturction,intsruction,isntruction,nistruction
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of instruction - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 “instruction”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “instructor” - see the side-by-side comparison. instruction vs instructor
- 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.