methane
/ˈmiːθeɪn/
"methane" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“methane” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,166. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #14,166
- frequency rank, English
- 4,057
- “M” headwords
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The simplest aliphatic hydrocarbon, CH₄, being a constituent of natural gas, and one of the most abundant greenhouse gases.
Corpus desk
Index EN-methane · methane · English
methane · rank #14,166 · 10 variants · 4 confusables
- FREQ-MID #14,166
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
- VAR-MID 10 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,057
- PHOTO-FINISH menace
Nearest frequency peer: menace (-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.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “methane”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- McConnell
McConnell
85,838 corpus weight
- McGregor
McGregor
85,837 corpus weight
- menace
menace
85,836 corpus weight
- methane
methane
85,835 corpus weight
- ming
ming
85,833 corpus weight
- misuse
misuse
85,832 corpus weight
What this shows “methane” 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).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | methane |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmiːθeɪn/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #14,166 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “methane”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 10 spelling variants around methane (IPA /ˈmiːθeɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #14,166 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for methane, with forms such as "emthane", "mehtane", and "metahne". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "methanol", "Meghan", "Meehan", 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 methyl + -ane. The correct English form is methane, spelled M-E-T-H-A-N-E.
Definition
- 1The simplest aliphatic hydrocarbon, CH₄, being a constituent of natural gas, and one of the most abundant greenhouse gases.
- 2Any of very many derivatives of methane.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how methane appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Cattle emit a large amount of methane.
Methane, an invisible, odorless gas that makes up more than 95% of natural gas fuel, can be as much as 80 times more potent as a global warmer per given unit than CO₂, which is more plentiful in the atmosphere. While there are less emissions than CO₂, methane lasts around 12 years, while CO₂ lingers for centuries.
Etymology
From methyl + -ane.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- emthane
- mehtane
- metahne
- methaen
- methanne
- methhane
- methnae
- metthane
- mmethane
- mtehane
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of methane - 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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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "methane", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).