knee

/niː/

//niː// noun

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

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

The verdict

“knee” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,098. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,098
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank.

Corpus desk

Index EN-knee · knee · English

knee · rank #4,098 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,098
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH jokes

Nearest frequency peer: jokes (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “knee”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “knee” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

knee vs kno
50% similar
knee vs know
50% similar
knee vs knew
75% similar

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

Key facts for knee
PropertyValue
Headwordknee
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/niː/
Letters4
Frequency rank#4,098
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “knee”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).kneelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “jokes” (#4,097), “mechanical” (#4,099), “Iowa” (#4,096). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “knee” is #4,098. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around knee (IPA /niː/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,098 among 1,236 “K” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for knee, with forms such as "kene", "kknee", and "kne". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "kno", "know", "knew", 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 kne, from Old English cnēow, from Proto-West Germanic *kneu, from Proto-Germanic *knewą, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵnéw-o-m, a thematic derivative of *ǵónu. See also West Frisian knibbel, Low German Knee, Knie, Dutch knie, German Knie, D… The correct English form is knee, spelled K-N-E-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank.
  2. 2
    In the horse and allied animals, the carpal joint, corresponding to the wrist in humans.
  3. 3
    In birds:
  4. 4
    In birds:
  5. 5
    The part of a garment that covers the knee.
  6. 6
    A piece of timber or metal formed with an angle somewhat in the shape of the human knee when bent.
  7. 7
    An act of kneeling, especially to show respect or courtesy.
  8. 8
    Any knee-shaped item or sharp angle in a line; an inflection point.
  9. 9
    A blow made with the knee; a kneeing.
  10. 10
    The presence of a parent etc., where a young child acquires early knowledge.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Penny was wearing a miniskirt, so she skinned her exposed knees when she fell.
  2. He made him ſtoup perforce vnto his knee, / And doe vnwilling worſhip to the Saint, / That on his ſhield depainted he did ſee[…]

Etymology

From Middle English kne, from Old English cnēow, from Proto-West Germanic *kneu, from Proto-Germanic *knewą, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵnéw-o-m, a thematic derivative of *ǵónu. See also West Frisian knibbel, Low German Knee, Knie, Dutch knie, German Knie, Danish knæ, Norwegian kne, Swedish knä; also Hittite 𒄀𒉡 (genu), Latin genū, Tocharian A kanweṃ (dual), Tocharian B kenī, Ancient Greek γόνυ (gónu, “knee”), γωνία (gōnía, “corner, angle”), Welsh glin (“knee”), Old Armenian ծունր (cunr), Avestan 𐬲𐬥𐬎𐬨 (žnum), Sanskrit जानु (jā́nu). The obsolete plural kneen is from Middle English kneen, knen, kneon, kneuwene.

This word in other languages

rodilla(Español)genou(Français)Knie(Deutsch)joelho(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • kene
  • kknee
  • kne
  • knnee
  • nkee

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

kene2kknee1kne1knnee1nkee2
Edit distance from "knee"

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 "knee"?
"knee" is spelled K-N-E-E. The IPA pronunciation is /niː/.
What does "knee" mean?
As a noun, "knee" means: In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank.
What words are commonly confused with "knee"?
"knee" is commonly confused with "kno", "know", "knew". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "knee"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "knee" is /niː/. 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 "knee"?
From Middle English kne, from Old English cnēow, from Proto-West Germanic *kneu, from Proto-Germanic *knewą, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵnéw-o-m, a thematic derivative of *ǵónu. See also West Frisian knibbel, Low German Knee, Knie, Dutch knie, Germ... 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 "knee", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Iowa#4,096teen#4,127trap#4,130boom#4,062

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

tail5 variantsroots5 variantscure5 variantsKate5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list