narration

/nəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/

//nəˈɹeɪ.ʃən// noun

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

"narration" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“narration” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #19,145 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#19,145
frequency rank, English
9
letters
12
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of recounting or relating in order the particulars of some action, occurrence, or affair; a narrating.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

narration vs narrator
78% similar
narration vs narrative
78% similar

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

Key facts for narration
PropertyValue
Headwordnarration
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/nəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/
Letters9
Frequency rank#19,145
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “narration” 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). narration 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 narration is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /nəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #19,145 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 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 narration, with forms such as "anrration", "narartion", and "naration". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "narrator", "narrative", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French narration, from Old French narracion, from Latin narrātiō. The correct English form is narration, spelled N-A-R-R-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of recounting or relating in order the particulars of some action, occurrence, or affair; a narrating.
  2. 2
    That which is narrated or recounted; an orderly recital of the details and particulars of some transaction or event, or of a series of transactions or events; a story or narrative.
  3. 3
    That part of an oration in which the speaker makes his or her statement of facts.

Etymology

From Middle French narration, from Old French narracion, from Latin narrātiō.

Synonyms

relation

This word in other languages

narración(Español)narration(Français)Erzählung(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: anrration,narartion,naration,narraiton,narrasion,narratino,narrationn,narratoin,narrattion,narrtaion,nnarration,nraration

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

anrration2narartion2naration1narraiton2narrasion1narratino2narrationn1narratoin2
Edit distance from "narration"

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 "narration"?
"narration" is spelled N-A-R-R-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /nəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/.
What does "narration" mean?
As a noun, "narration" means: The act of recounting or relating in order the particulars of some action, occurrence, or affair; a narrating.
What words are commonly confused with "narration"?
"narration" is commonly confused with "narrator", "narrative". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "narration"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "narration" is /nəˈɹeɪ.ʃən/. 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 "narration"?
From Middle French narration, from Old French narracion, from Latin narrātiō. 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 “narration”

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

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