mph

/ˌɛmpiˈeɪt͡ʃ/

//ˌɛmpiˈeɪt͡ʃ// noun

"mph" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mph” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #6,813) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#6,813
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Initialism of mile(s) per hour.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mph · mph · English

mph · rank #6,813 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,813
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-0 0 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH motors

Nearest frequency peer: motors (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “mph”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “mph” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

mph vs my
33% similar
mph vs Mr
0% similar
mph vs MS
0% similar

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

Key facts for mph
PropertyValue
Headwordmph
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌɛmpiˈeɪt͡ʃ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#6,813
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “mph”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).mphlands 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 “motors” (#6,812), “navigation” (#6,814), “modest” (#6,811). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mph” is #6,813. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for mph is neighbouring look-alikes ("my", "Mr", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˌɛmpiˈeɪt͡ʃ/. Frequency #6,813 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Gloss: "Initialism of mile(s) per hour.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for mph in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "my", "Mr", "MS", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is mph, spelled M-P-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Initialism of mile(s) per hour.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Toyota spokesman Paul Hogard said the automaker wants speedometers to be easy to read, so there’s value in placing the typical operating speed of American cars, 45 mph to 70 mph, he said, at the top of the speedometer, which is the easiest place on the speedometer for the driver to read.

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 "mph"?
"mph" is spelled M-P-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɛmpiˈeɪt͡ʃ/.
What does "mph" mean?
As a noun, "mph" means: Initialism of mile(s) per hour.
What words are commonly confused with "mph"?
"mph" is commonly confused with "my", "Mr", "MS". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mph"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mph" is /ˌɛmpiˈeɪt͡ʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "mph" come from?
"mph" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "mph", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list