Nanjing

/nænˈd͡ʒɪŋ/

//nænˈd͡ʒɪŋ// name

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

"nanjing" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Nanjing” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #29,007. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,007
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A major subprovincial city, the provincial capital of Jiangsu, China, on the lower Yangtze; a former capital of China.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nanjing · Nanjing · English

Nanjing · rank #29,007 · 11 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,007
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH mystique

Nearest frequency peer: mystique (-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 “Nanjing”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “Nanjing” 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).

Nanjing vs napping
57% similar
Nanjing vs Nanking
86% similar
Nanjing vs naming
57% similar

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

Key facts for Nanjing
PropertyValue
HeadwordNanjing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/nænˈd͡ʒɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#29,007
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Nanjing”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Nanjinglands 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 “mystique” (#29,006), “narcotic” (#29,008), “NDA” (#29,009). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “Nanjing” is #29,007. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around Nanjing (IPA /nænˈd͡ʒɪŋ/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #29,007 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Nanjing, with forms such as "annjing", "najning", and "nanijng". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "napping", "Nanking", "naming", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: The atonal Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 南京 (Nánjīng), composed of 南 (“south, southern”) and 京 (jīng, “capital”), distinguishing it from Beijing to the north, and first applied informally during the reign of the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynast… The correct English form is Nanjing, spelled N-A-N-J-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A major subprovincial city, the provincial capital of Jiangsu, China, on the lower Yangtze; a former capital of China.
  2. 2
    Synonym of Jiangnan, Nanzhili, Liangjiang, etc. as imperial Chinese provinces or viceroyalties administered from Nanjing.
  3. 3
    Various other Chinese cities during periods when they acted as a southern capital of a kingdom or imperial dynasty.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. That Riuer of Nanquin which I called (Yamſu or) Ianſu, the ſonne of the Sea, goeth Northward to Nanquin, and then returning ſomewhat Southward, runneth into the Sea with great force; fortie myles from which it paſſeth by Nanquin. And that from hence to Pequin there might bee paſſage by Riuers, the Kings of China haue deriued a large Channell from this to…
  2. For the first time on Saturday, China held a national day of remembrance on the 77th anniversary of Japanese atrocities committed in the city of Nanjing in the run-up to World War II. President Xi Jinping led the commemorations in front of a crowd of some 10,000 people, among whom were survivors or relatives of victims of the "Rape of Nanking," a six-week…

Etymology

The atonal Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 南京 (Nánjīng), composed of 南 (“south, southern”) and 京 (jīng, “capital”), distinguishing it from Beijing to the north, and first applied informally during the reign of the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who preferred to rule from Beijing but was obliged to treat Nanjing as a secondary capital by the dynastic injunctions of his father the Hongwu Emperor. The name continued a practice of several preceding dynasties—especially those of nomadic conquerers from the north such as the Jin and Liao—of maintaining a number of separate capitals designated by their cardinal directions.

Synonyms

JiangningTianjingT'ien-ching

This word in other languages

Nankín(Español)Nankin(Français)Nanking(Deutsch)Nanquim(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • annjing
  • najning
  • nanijng
  • nanjign
  • nanjingg
  • nanjinng
  • nanjjing
  • nanjnig
  • nannjing
  • nnajing
  • nnanjing

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Nanjing - 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.

annjing2najning2nanijng2nanjign2nanjingg1nanjinng1nanjjing1nanjnig2
Edit distance from "Nanjing"

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 "Nanjing"?
"Nanjing" is spelled N-A-N-J-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /nænˈd͡ʒɪŋ/.
What does "Nanjing" mean?
As a proper noun, "Nanjing" means: A major subprovincial city, the provincial capital of Jiangsu, China, on the lower Yangtze; a former capital of China.
What words are commonly confused with "Nanjing"?
"Nanjing" is commonly confused with "napping", "Nanking", "naming". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Nanjing"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Nanjing" is /nænˈd͡ʒɪŋ/. 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 "Nanjing"?
The atonal Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 南京 (Nánjīng), composed of 南 (“south, southern”) and 京 (jīng, “capital”), distinguishing it from Beijing to the north, and first applied informally during the reign of the Yongle Emperor of the M... 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 "Nanjing", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Optimus#29,019Maloney#28,988Padilla#29,028Lubbock#28,982

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

outbound11 variantsLombard11 variantsleprosy11 variantskingpin11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list