lingerie
/ˈlɒndʒəɹi/
"lingerie" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“lingerie” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,352 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #14,352
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Underwear or nightclothes (typically women's), especially when lacy or designed to be seductive.
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 | lingerie |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈlɒndʒəɹi/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #14,352 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “lingerie” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for lingerie is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈlɒndʒəɹi/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,352 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for lingerie, with forms such as "ilngerie", "lignerie", and "linegrie". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "lingering", "linger", "lingered", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French lingerie (“linen closet”). The irregular pronunciation is a hyperforeignism; it may derive from the frequent shift of /ɛ̃/ (which is this word's first vowel in standard French) toward /ɑ̃/ or [æ̃] in European French, which also tends to… The correct English form is lingerie, spelled L-I-N-G-E-R-I-E.
Definition
- 1Underwear or nightclothes (typically women's), especially when lacy or designed to be seductive.
- 2Linen goods collectively.
Etymology
Borrowed from French lingerie (“linen closet”). The irregular pronunciation is a hyperforeignism; it may derive from the frequent shift of /ɛ̃/ (which is this word's first vowel in standard French) toward /ɑ̃/ or [æ̃] in European French, which also tends to be drifted towards /ɔ̃/.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ilngerie,lignerie,linegrie,lingeire,lingerei,lingerrie,linggerie,lingreie,linngerie,llingerie,lnigerie
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lingerie - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 “lingerie”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-I-N-G-E-R-I-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈlɒndʒəɹi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “lingering” - see the side-by-side comparison. lingerie vs lingering
- 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.