mirror

/ˈmɪɹ.ɐ/

//ˈmɪɹ.ɐ// noun

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

"mirror" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mirror” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,184. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,184
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mirror · mirror · English

mirror · rank #3,184 · 7 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,184
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Miami

Nearest frequency peer: Miami (-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 “mirror”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “mirror” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

mirror vs morrow
67% similar
mirror vs Mordor
50% similar
mirror vs mirrors
86% similar

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

Key facts for mirror
PropertyValue
Headwordmirror
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɪɹ.ɐ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#3,184
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “mirror”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Miami” (#3,183), “mount” (#3,185), “membership” (#3,182). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mirror” is #3,184. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around mirror (IPA /ˈmɪɹ.ɐ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,184 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for mirror, with forms such as "imrror", "miror", and "mirorr". 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, "morrow", "Mordor", "mirrors", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mirour, from Old French mireor (“mirror”, literally “looker, watcher”), from mirer (“look at”), from Latin mīror (“wonder at”), from mīrus (“wonderful”), from Proto-Indo-European *smey- (“to laugh, to be glad”). Displaced native Middle E… The correct English form is mirror, spelled M-I-R-R-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it.
  2. 2
    An object, person, or event that reflects or gives a picture of another.
  3. 3
    A website or server that contains replicated data from another site.
  4. 4
    A mirror carp.
  5. 5
    A kind of political self-help book, advising kings, princes, etc. on how to behave.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how mirror appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I had a look in the mirror to see if the blood had come off my face.
  2. He broke the mirror with the pickaxe.

Etymology

From Middle English mirour, from Old French mireor (“mirror”, literally “looker, watcher”), from mirer (“look at”), from Latin mīror (“wonder at”), from mīrus (“wonderful”), from Proto-Indo-European *smey- (“to laugh, to be glad”). Displaced native Middle English schewere, schawere, from Old English sċēawere (“mirror”, literally “watcher”), which was also the word for "spy".

This word in other languages

espejo(Español)glace(Français)Spiegel(Deutsch)espelho(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imrror
  • miror
  • mirorr
  • mirrorr
  • mirrro
  • mmirror
  • mriror

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

imrror2miror1mirorr2mirrorr1mirrro2mmirror1mriror2
Edit distance from "mirror"

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 "mirror"?
"mirror" is spelled M-I-R-R-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɪɹ.ɐ/.
What does "mirror" mean?
As a noun, "mirror" means: A smooth surface, usually made of glass with reflective material painted on the underside, that reflects light so as to give an image of what is in front of it.
What words are commonly confused with "mirror"?
"mirror" is commonly confused with "morrow", "Mordor", "mirrors". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mirror"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mirror" is /ˈmɪɹ.ɐ/. 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 "mirror"?
From Middle English mirour, from Old French mireor (“mirror”, literally “looker, watcher”), from mirer (“look at”), from Latin mīror (“wonder at”), from mīrus (“wonderful”), from Proto-Indo-European *smey- (“to laugh, to be glad”). Displaced nativ... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mirror", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

nights#3,186loving#3,179limits#3,178lesson#3,177

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

mount7 variantskiller7 variantstears7 variantsgotten7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list