krill

Name: krill, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/kɹɪl/

//kɹɪl// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“krill” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #45,475. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#45,475
frequency rank, English: 1,236
“K” headwords: 6
tracked misspellings: 11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of several small marine crustacean species of plankton in the order Euphausiacea in the class Malacostraca.

Corpus desk

Index EN-krill · krill · English

krill · rank #45,475 · 6 variants · 11 confusables

FREQ-MID #45,475
LEN-MID 5 letters
VOW-1 1 vowel
CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
VAR-MID 6 variants
BOOK-MID 1,236
PHOTO-FINISH kono

Nearest frequency peer: kono (-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.

kobo

54,529
kono

54,527
krill

54,526
Krug

54,524
laceration

54,522
Laplace

54,521

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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

krill vs kris

60% similar

krill vs Kroll

60% similar

krill vs kill

80% similar

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

Key facts for krill
Property	Value
Headword	krill
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/kɹɪl/
Letters	5
Frequency rank	#45,475
Misspellings tracked	6
Confusable pairs	11
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “krill”

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

#45,475

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “kono” (#45,474), “Krug” (#45,477), “kobo” (#45,472). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “krill” is #45,475. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around krill (IPA /kɹɪl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #45,475 among 1,236 “K” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for krill, with forms such as "kirll", "kkrill", and "kril". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "kris", "Kroll", "kill", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Norwegian kril (“fry of fish”). The correct English form is krill, spelled K-R-I-L-L.

Definition

1
Any of several small marine crustacean species of plankton in the order Euphausiacea in the class Malacostraca.
2
Crack cocaine.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

“This science relates to krill and krill ecosystems, whale acoustic monitoring and Southern Ocean ecosystems,” the spokesperson said.
Instead she wanna hear the beatbox / Take pills and make fake krills as sheetrock

Etymology

From Norwegian kril (“fry of fish”).

This word in other languages

Krill(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

kirll
kkrill
kril
krlil
krrill
rkill

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "krill"

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 "krill"?

"krill" is spelled K-R-I-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /kɹɪl/.

What does "krill" mean?

As a noun, "krill" means: Any of several small marine crustacean species of plankton in the order Euphausiacea in the class Malacostraca.

What words are commonly confused with "krill"?

"krill" is commonly confused with "kris", "Kroll", "kill". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "krill"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "krill" is /kɹɪl/. 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 "krill"?

From Norwegian kril (“fry of fish”). 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 "krill", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

liven#45,486 Lucca#45,494 mages#45,499 mitre#45,521

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Krug6 variants ICBM6 variants MERS6 variants Henan6 variants