kind
/kaɪnd/
"kind" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“kind” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #337 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #337
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A type, race or category; a group of entities that have common characteristics such that they may be grouped together.
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 | kind |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kaɪnd/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #337 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “kind” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for kind is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kaɪnd/. Corpus data places it at rank #337 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for kind, with forms such as "iknd", "kidn", and "kindd". 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, "kit", "kun", "kip", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English kynde, kinde, from Old English cynd, ġecynd (“inherent nature, disposition, kind, gender, generation, race”), from Proto-West Germanic *kundi, from Proto-Germanic *kinþiz, related to Proto-Germanic *kunją (“race, kin”) and Old English ce… The correct English form is kind, spelled K-I-N-D.
Definition
- 1A type, race or category; a group of entities that have common characteristics such that they may be grouped together.
- 2A makeshift or otherwise atypical specimen.
- 3One's inherent nature; character, natural disposition.
- 4Family, lineage.
- 5Manner.
- 6Goods or services used as payment, as e.g. in barter.
- 7Equivalent means used as response to an action.
- 8Each of the two elements of the communion service, bread and wine.
- 9The type of a type constructor or a higher-order type operator.
- 10Food in a particular category.
Etymology
From Middle English kynde, kinde, from Old English cynd, ġecynd (“inherent nature, disposition, kind, gender, generation, race”), from Proto-West Germanic *kundi, from Proto-Germanic *kinþiz, related to Proto-Germanic *kunją (“race, kin”) and Old English cennan (“to bear, give birth”). Cognate with Old High German gikunt (“nature, kind”), Icelandic kind (“race, species, kind”). Doublet of gens, genesis, and jati. See also kin.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: iknd,kidn,kindd,kinnd,kkind,knid
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of kind - 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 “kind”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is K-I-N-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kaɪnd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “kit” - see the side-by-side comparison. kind vs kit
- 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.