Lutheran
/ˈluːθəɹ(ə)n/
"lutheran" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Lutheran” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,069 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #16,069
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of or pertaining to the theology of Martin Luther (1483–1546) or his followers, or the Lutheran church.
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 | Lutheran |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈluːθəɹ(ə)n/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #16,069 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Lutheran” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Lutheran is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈluːθəɹ(ə)n/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,069 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Of or pertaining to the theology of Martin Luther (1483–1546) or his followers, or the Lutheran church.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for Lutheran, with forms such as "llutheran", "ltuheran", and "luhteran". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Luther", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From the surname of German theologian and ecclesiastical reformer Martin Luther (1483–1546) + -an. Probably immediately from Renaissance Latin Lutheranus, or German Lutheraner. Luther is from an Old High German given name, from liut (“people”) + heri (“army… The correct English form is Lutheran, spelled L-U-T-H-E-R-A-N.
Definition
- 1Of or pertaining to the theology of Martin Luther (1483–1546) or his followers, or the Lutheran church.
Etymology
From the surname of German theologian and ecclesiastical reformer Martin Luther (1483–1546) + -an. Probably immediately from Renaissance Latin Lutheranus, or German Lutheraner. Luther is from an Old High German given name, from liut (“people”) + heri (“army”) (from Proto-Germanic *harjaz (“army; commander, warrior”), from Proto-Indo-European *kóryos (“war; troops”), from *ker- (“army”)).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: llutheran,ltuheran,luhteran,lutehran,luthearn,lutherann,lutherna,lutherran,luthheran,luthrean,luttheran,ultheran
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Lutheran - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "Lutheran"?
What does "Lutheran" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Lutheran"?
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Using “Lutheran”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-U-T-H-E-R-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈluːθəɹ(ə)n/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Luther” - see the side-by-side comparison. Lutheran vs Luther
- 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.