j

/dʒeɪ/

//dʒeɪ// character

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

"j" is a 1-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“j” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #1,084) as a character. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#1,084
frequency rank, English
796
“J” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - The tenth letter of the English alphabet, called jay and written in the Latin script.

Corpus desk

Index EN-j · j · English

j · rank #1,084 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,084
  • LEN-SHORT 1 letters
  • VOW-0 0 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 796
  • PHOTO-FINISH interesting

Nearest frequency peer: interesting (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “j”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “j” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

j vs Jr
0% similar
j vs jo
50% similar
j vs JI
0% similar

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

Key facts for j
PropertyValue
Headwordj
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechCharacter
IPA/dʒeɪ/
Letters1
Frequency rank#1,084
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “j” 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). j lands here:

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

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

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for j is neighbouring look-alikes ("Jr", "jo", …), not just typos; it is acharacter pronounced /dʒeɪ/. Frequency #1,084 among 796 “J” headwords. Gloss: "The tenth letter of the English alphabet, called jay and written in the Latin script.".

No misspelling variants are generated for j in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Jr", "jo", "JI", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is j, spelled J.

Definition

  1. 1
    The tenth letter of the English alphabet, called jay and written in the Latin script.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "j"?
"j" is spelled J. The IPA pronunciation is /dʒeɪ/.
What does "j" mean?
As a character, "j" means: The tenth letter of the English alphabet, called jay and written in the Latin script.
What words are commonly confused with "j"?
"j" is commonly confused with "Jr", "jo", "JI". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "j"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "j" is /dʒeɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "j" come from?
"j" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

What to do next

You've looked up "j". Here's where to go from here.

  • "j" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Jr". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #1,084 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "J" letter cohort. J–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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