mallard
/ˈmæl.ɑː(ɹ)d/
"mallard" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“mallard” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #36,653 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #36,653
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Anas platyrhynchos, a common and widespread dabbling duck, natively found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, whose male has a distinctive dark green head.
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 | mallard |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmæl.ɑː(ɹ)d/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #36,653 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “mallard” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for mallard is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmæl.ɑː(ɹ)d/. Corpus data places it at rank #36,653 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 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for mallard, with forms such as "amllard", "malalrd", and "malard". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "malware", "Maynard", "Mallory", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English malard, mawlard, from Old French malard, malart, mallart (“male wild duck”), from Old French male, masle (“male”) + -ard, -art. Cognate with Medieval Latin maslardus, mallardus. The correct English form is mallard, spelled M-A-L-L-A-R-D.
Definition
- 1Anas platyrhynchos, a common and widespread dabbling duck, natively found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, whose male has a distinctive dark green head.
- 2The meat of this bird, eaten as food.
Etymology
From Middle English malard, mawlard, from Old French malard, malart, mallart (“male wild duck”), from Old French male, masle (“male”) + -ard, -art. Cognate with Medieval Latin maslardus, mallardus.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: amllard,malalrd,malard,malladr,mallardd,mallarrd,mallrad,mlalard,mmallard
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mallard - 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
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Using “mallard”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-A-L-L-A-R-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmæl.ɑː(ɹ)d/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “malware” - see the side-by-side comparison. mallard vs malware
- 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.