joke

/d͡ʒəʊk/

//d͡ʒəʊk// noun

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

"joke" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“joke” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,117 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,117
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An amusing story.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

joke vs joy
50% similar
joke vs Jon
25% similar
joke vs Joo
25% similar

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

Key facts for joke
PropertyValue
Headwordjoke
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/d͡ʒəʊk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,117
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “joke” 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). joke lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for joke is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /d͡ʒəʊk/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,117 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for joke, with forms such as "jjoke", "jkoe", and "joek". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "joy", "Jon", "Joo", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin iocus (“joke, jest, pastime”), from Proto-Italic *jokos (“word, (playful?) saying”), from Proto-Indo-European *yokos (“word, utterance”), from ultimate root Proto-Indo-European *yek- (“to speak, utter”) (of which distant cognates include Proto-Ce… The correct English form is joke, spelled J-O-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An amusing story.
  2. 2
    Something said or done for amusement, not in seriousness.
  3. 3
    The root cause or main issue, especially an unexpected one
  4. 4
    A laughably worthless thing or person; a sham.
  5. 5
    Something that is far easier or far less challenging than expected.

Etymology

From Latin iocus (“joke, jest, pastime”), from Proto-Italic *jokos (“word, (playful?) saying”), from Proto-Indo-European *yokos (“word, utterance”), from ultimate root Proto-Indo-European *yek- (“to speak, utter”) (of which distant cognates include Proto-Celtic *yextis (“language”) (Breton yezh (“language”) and Welsh iaith (“language”)) and German Beichte (“confession”)). Cognate with French jeu, Italian gioco, Portuguese jogo, Spanish juego, Romanian joc, English Yule, Danish Jule, Norwegian Bokmål Jul, Swedish Jul, and Norwegian Nynorsk jol.

Synonyms

joke

This word in other languages

broma(Español)plaisanterie(Français)Witz(Deutsch)brincadeira(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: jjoke,jkoe,joek,jokke,ojke

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of joke - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

jjoke1jkoe2joek2jokke1ojke2
Edit distance from "joke"

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 "joke"?
"joke" is spelled J-O-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is /d͡ʒəʊk/.
What does "joke" mean?
As a noun, "joke" means: An amusing story.
What words are commonly confused with "joke"?
"joke" is commonly confused with "joy", "Jon", "Joo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "joke"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "joke" is /d͡ʒəʊk/. 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 "joke"?
From Latin iocus (“joke, jest, pastime”), from Proto-Italic *jokos (“word, (playful?) saying”), from Proto-Indo-European *yokos (“word, utterance”), from ultimate root Proto-Indo-European *yek- (“to speak, utter”) (of which distant cognates includ... 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 “joke”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is J-O-K-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /d͡ʒəʊk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “joy” - see the side-by-side comparison. joke vs joy
  • 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.

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

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