mystery
/ˈmɪs.t(ə.)ɹi/
"mystery" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“mystery” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,317 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #3,317
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Something secret or unexplainable; an unknown.
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 | mystery |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈmɪs.t(ə.)ɹi/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #3,317 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “mystery” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for mystery is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈmɪs.t(ə.)ɹi/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,317 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for mystery, with forms such as "mmystery", "msytery", and "mysetry". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "master", "misery", "mister", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mysterie, from Anglo-Norman misterie (Old French mistere), from Latin mysterium, from Ancient Greek μυστήριον (mustḗrion, “a mystery, a secret, a secret rite”), from μύστης (mústēs, “initiated one”), from μυέω (muéō, “to initiate”), from… The correct English form is mystery, spelled M-Y-S-T-E-R-Y.
Definition
- 1Something secret or unexplainable; an unknown.
- 2Someone or something with an obscure or puzzling nature.
- 3An account, story, book, film, or play, often with the theme of crime or murder, with a surprise ending that explains all the strange events that have occurred.
- 4A mystery play.
- 5A secret or mystical meaning.
- 6A religious truth not understandable by the application of human reason alone (without divine aid).
- 7A sacrament.
- 8A secret religious celebration, admission to which was usually through initiation.
- 9A particular event or series of events in the life of Christ.
- 10A craft, art or trade; specifically a guild of craftsmen.
Etymology
From Middle English mysterie, from Anglo-Norman misterie (Old French mistere), from Latin mysterium, from Ancient Greek μυστήριον (mustḗrion, “a mystery, a secret, a secret rite”), from μύστης (mústēs, “initiated one”), from μυέω (muéō, “to initiate”), from μύω (múō, “to shut”). Displaced native Old English ġerȳne.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: mmystery,msytery,mysetry,mysstery,mysterry,mysteryy,mysteyr,mystrey,mysttery,mytsery,myystery,ymstery
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mystery - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 “mystery”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is M-Y-S-T-E-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈmɪs.t(ə.)ɹi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “master” - see the side-by-side comparison. mystery vs master
- 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.