kindly
/ˈkaɪn(d)li/
"kindly" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“kindly” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,150 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #7,150
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 9
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Having a kind personality; kind, warmhearted, sympathetic.
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 | kindly |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈkaɪn(d)li/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #7,150 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 9 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “kindly” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for kindly is 6 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkaɪn(d)li/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,150 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for kindly, with forms such as "ikndly", "kidnly", and "kinddly". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "kinds", "kinky", "Kinney", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English kyndely, kyndeliche, from Old English cyndelīċ (“natural, kindly”); equivalent to kind + -ly. The correct English form is kindly, spelled K-I-N-D-L-Y.
Definition
- 1Having a kind personality; kind, warmhearted, sympathetic.
- 2Favourable, gentle, pleasant, tidy, auspicious, beneficent.
- 3Lawful.
- 4Natural; inherent to the kind or race.
Etymology
From Middle English kyndely, kyndeliche, from Old English cyndelīċ (“natural, kindly”); equivalent to kind + -ly.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ikndly,kidnly,kinddly,kindlly,kindlyy,kindyl,kinldy,kinndly,kkindly,knidly
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of kindly - 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 “kindly”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is K-I-N-D-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkaɪn(d)li/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “kinds” - see the side-by-side comparison. kindly vs kinds
- 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.