Michael
/ˈmaɪkəl/
"michael" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Michael” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #880 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #880
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 8
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A male given name from Hebrew.
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 | Michael |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈmaɪkəl/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #880 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 8 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Michael” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Michael is 7 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmaɪkəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #880 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 4 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 Michael, with forms such as "imchael", "mcihael", and "micahel". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "Michel", "Michal", "Michele", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English Michael, from Old French Michel, Old English Michahel, and directly from their source Latin Michaēl, from Ancient Greek Μῐχᾱήλ (Mĭkhāḗl), from Biblical Hebrew מִיכָאֵל (mîḵāʾēl, literally “who is like God?”). Doublet of Miguel and Mikhail. The correct English form is Michael, spelled M-I-C-H-A-E-L.
Definition
- 1A male given name from Hebrew.
- 2An archangel associated with defending the faithful in the tribulation.
- 3A surname transferred from the given name.
- 4A parish and sheading of the Isle of Man.
Etymology
From Middle English Michael, from Old French Michel, Old English Michahel, and directly from their source Latin Michaēl, from Ancient Greek Μῐχᾱήλ (Mĭkhāḗl), from Biblical Hebrew מִיכָאֵל (mîḵāʾēl, literally “who is like God?”). Doublet of Miguel and Mikhail.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: imchael,mcihael,micahel,micchael,michaell,michale,michhael,mihcael,mmichael
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Michael - 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 “Michael”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-I-C-H-A-E-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmaɪkəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Michel” - see the side-by-side comparison. Michael vs Michel
- 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.