kaolin

/ˈkeɪ.ə.lɪn/

//ˈkeɪ.ə.lɪn// noun

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

"kaolin" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“kaolin” is uncommon English (frequency #60,905 among 1,236 “K” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#60,905
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A fine clay, rich in kaolinite, used in ceramics, papermaking, etc.

Corpus desk

Index EN-kaolin · kaolin · English

kaolin · rank #60,905 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #60,905
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH Kirkby

Nearest frequency peer: Kirkby (+5 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.

Long-tail ranks near “kaolin”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “kaolin” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for kaolin
PropertyValue
Headwordkaolin
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkeɪ.ə.lɪn/
Letters6
Frequency rank#60,905
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “kaolin” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).kaolinfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Kirkby” (#60,910), “kish” (#60,912), “Jiangxi” (#60,897). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “kaolin” is #60,905. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

kaolin is uncommon English at frequency #60,905 among 1,236 “K” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkeɪ.ə.lɪn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A fine clay, rich in kaolinite, used in ceramics, papermaking, etc.".

No misspelling variants are generated for kaolin in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French kaolin, François Xavier d'Entrecolles's irregular romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 高嶺土 /高岭土 (gāolǐngtǔ, “Gaoling earth”), from 高嶺 /高岭 (Gāolǐng, “High Ridge”), a village in Fuliang County, Jingdezhen Prefecture, Jiangxi Provi… The correct English form is kaolin, spelled K-A-O-L-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A fine clay, rich in kaolinite, used in ceramics, papermaking, etc.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how kaolin appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The composition of the Eastern or proper China ware, according to accounts that have great marks of authenticity, is from two earths; one of which is, as was before mentioned, vitrescent, and is called Petunse; the other a refractory or apyrous earth; and called Kaolin.
  2. Grind with strong arm, the circling chertz betwixt, / Your pure Ka-o-lins and Pe-tun-tses mixt […].

Etymology

From French kaolin, François Xavier d'Entrecolles's irregular romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 高嶺土 /高岭土 (gāolǐngtǔ, “Gaoling earth”), from 高嶺 /高岭 (Gāolǐng, “High Ridge”), a village in Fuliang County, Jingdezhen Prefecture, Jiangxi Province, that became Jingdezhen's primary source of this kind of clay during the early to mid-Qing dynasty.

Synonyms

china clayE559paper claylithomargelithomargakaolinekaolinite

This word in other languages

caolín(Español)kaolin(Français)Kaolin(Deutsch)

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 "kaolin"?
"kaolin" is spelled K-A-O-L-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkeɪ.ə.lɪn/.
What does "kaolin" mean?
As a noun, "kaolin" means: A fine clay, rich in kaolinite, used in ceramics, papermaking, etc.
How do you pronounce "kaolin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kaolin" is /ˈkeɪ.ə.lɪn/. 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 "kaolin"?
From French kaolin, François Xavier d'Entrecolles's irregular romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 高嶺土 /高岭土 (gāolǐngtǔ, “Gaoling earth”), from 高嶺 /高岭 (Gāolǐng, “High Ridge”), a village in Fuliang County, Jingdezhen Prefecture, Jia... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "kaolin", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Kirkby#60,910Kumasi#60,919instil#60,882Lisboa#60,932

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list