mine

/maɪ̯n/

//maɪ̯n// pron

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"mine" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mine” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #971 in English word frequency and used as a pronoun.

#971
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - That or those belonging to me.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

mine vs MN
0% similar
mine vs mix
50% similar
mine vs mon
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for mine
PropertyValue
Headwordmine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPronoun
IPA/maɪ̯n/
Letters4
Frequency rank#971
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mine” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). mine lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for mine is 4 letters long, classified as a pronoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /maɪ̯n/. Corpus data places it at rank #971 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for mine, with forms such as "imne", "mien", and "minne". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "MN", "mix", "mon", 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 Middle English min, myn, from Old English mīn, from Proto-West Germanic *mīn, from Proto-Germanic *mīnaz, from Proto-Indo-European *méynos. Cognate with Saterland Frisian mien, West Frisian myn, Dutch mijn, Low German mien, German mein, Danish, Swedish… The correct English form is mine, spelled M-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    That or those belonging to me.
  2. 2
    That or those belonging to me.
  3. 3
    That or those belonging to me.
  4. 4
    That or those belonging to me.
  5. 5
    That or those belonging to me.

Etymology

From Middle English min, myn, from Old English mīn, from Proto-West Germanic *mīn, from Proto-Germanic *mīnaz, from Proto-Indo-European *méynos. Cognate with Saterland Frisian mien, West Frisian myn, Dutch mijn, Low German mien, German mein, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian min, Icelandic mín.

This word in other languages

mío(Español)le mien(Français)mein(Deutsch)meu(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: imne,mien,minne,mmine,mnie

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mine - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

imne2mien2minne1mmine1mnie2
Edit distance from "mine"

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 "mine"?
"mine" is spelled M-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /maɪ̯n/.
What does "mine" mean?
As a pronoun, "mine" means: That or those belonging to me.
What words are commonly confused with "mine"?
"mine" is commonly confused with "MN", "mix", "mon". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mine" is /maɪ̯n/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "mine"?
From Middle English min, myn, from Old English mīn, from Proto-West Germanic *mīn, from Proto-Germanic *mīnaz, from Proto-Indo-European *méynos. Cognate with Saterland Frisian mien, West Frisian myn, Dutch mijn, Low German mien, German mein, Danis... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “mine”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is M-I-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /maɪ̯n/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “MN” - see the side-by-side comparison. mine vs MN
  • 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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list