kris
"kris" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“kris” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #12,090 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #12,090
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A traditional Indonesian, Malaysian, or Filipino sword or dagger having a tapering, usually serpentine blade.
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 | kris |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #12,090 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “kris” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for kris is 4 letters long, classified as a noun. Corpus data places it at rank #12,090 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A traditional Indonesian, Malaysian, or Filipino sword or dagger having a tapering, usually serpentine blade.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for kris, with forms such as "kirs", "kkris", and "kriss". 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, "KS", "Kyi", "Kyiv", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Malay keris. Doublet of kalis. Recognized as part of English ca. 1580. The correct English form is kris, spelled K-R-I-S.
Definition
- 1A traditional Indonesian, Malaysian, or Filipino sword or dagger having a tapering, usually serpentine blade.
Etymology
Borrowed from Malay keris. Doublet of kalis. Recognized as part of English ca. 1580.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: kirs,kkris,kriss,krris,krsi,rkis
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of kris - 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
How do you spell "kris"?
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Using “kris”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is K-R-I-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Don't mix it up with “KS” - see the side-by-side comparison. kris vs KS
- 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.