Kim

/kɪm/

//kɪm// name

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

"kim" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Kim” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #2,541) as a proper noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#2,541
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A unisex given name.

Corpus desk

Index EN-kim · Kim · English

Kim · rank #2,541 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,541
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH instance

Nearest frequency peer: instance (-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 neighbours of confusable “Kim”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “Kim” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

Kim vs ky
0% similar
Kim vs ko
0% similar
Kim vs Ku
33% similar

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

Key facts for Kim
PropertyValue
HeadwordKim
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/kɪm/
Letters3
Frequency rank#2,541
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “Kim”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Kimlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “instance” (#2,540), “kinda” (#2,542), “gender” (#2,539). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “Kim” is #2,541. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for Kim is neighbouring look-alikes ("ky", "ko", …), not just typos; it is aproper noun pronounced /kɪm/. Frequency #2,541 among 1,236 “K” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Kim doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ky", "ko", "Ku", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Clipping of Kimball and Kimberley as a male name, and of Kimberley and Kimberly as a female name. The correct English form is Kim, spelled K-I-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    A unisex given name.
  2. 2
    A unisex given name.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The half-caste woman who looked after him (she smoked opium, and pretended to keep a second-hand furniture shop by the square where the cheap cabs wait) told the missionaries that she was Kim’s mother’s sister; but his mother had been nursemaid in a colonel's family and had married Kimball O’Hara, a young color-sergeant of the Mavericks, an Irish regiment.
  2. Bizarre as was the name she bore, Kim Ravenal always said she was thankful it had been no worse. […] It is no secret that the absurd monosyllable which comprises her given name is made up of the first letters of three states — Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri — in all of which she was, incredibly enough, born.

Etymology

Clipping of Kimball and Kimberley as a male name, and of Kimberley and Kimberly as a female name.

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 "Kim"?
"Kim" is spelled K-I-M. The IPA pronunciation is /kɪm/.
What does "Kim" mean?
As a proper noun, "Kim" means: A unisex given name.
What words are commonly confused with "Kim"?
"Kim" is commonly confused with "ky", "ko", "Ku". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Kim"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Kim" is /kɪm/. 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 "Kim"?
Clipping of Kimball and Kimberley as a male name, and of Kimberley and Kimberly as a female name. 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 "Kim", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cry#2,525row#2,498don#2,480BBC#2,612

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list