nation

/ˈneɪʃən/

//ˈneɪʃən// noun

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

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

The verdict

“nation” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,400. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,400
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A historically constituted, stable community of people, formed based on a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and/or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nation · nation · English

nation · rank #1,400 · 9 variants · 9 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,400
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH lots

Nearest frequency peer: lots (-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 “nation”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “nation” 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).

nation vs NATO
0% similar
nation vs native
67% similar
nation vs notion
83% similar

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

Key facts for nation
PropertyValue
Headwordnation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈneɪʃən/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,400
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “nation”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).nationlands 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 “lots” (#1,399), “otherwise” (#1,401), “lived” (#1,398). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nation” is #1,400. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around nation (IPA /ˈneɪʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,400 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for nation, with forms such as "antion", "naiton", and "nasion". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "NATO", "native", "notion", 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 nacioun, nacion, from Old French nacion, from Latin nātiōnem, accusative of nātiō (“nation”). Displaced native Old English þēod. The correct English form is nation, spelled N-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A historically constituted, stable community of people, formed based on a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and/or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.
  2. 2
    A historically constituted, stable community of people, formed based on a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and/or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.
  3. 3
    A sovereign state; (loosely, metonymic, proscribed) a country.
  4. 4
    An association of students based on the birthplace or ethnicity of its members.
  5. 5
    A great number; a great deal.
  6. 6
    In North America, an Indigenous people with federal and/or state recognition as such and (often also) their federally recognized territory.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The Roma are a nation without a country.
  2. pre-Columbian nations

Etymology

From Middle English nacioun, nacion, from Old French nacion, from Latin nātiōnem, accusative of nātiō (“nation”). Displaced native Old English þēod.

This word in other languages

nación(Español)nation(Français)Volk(Deutsch)nação(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • antion
  • naiton
  • nasion
  • natino
  • nationn
  • natoin
  • nattion
  • nnation
  • ntaion

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of nation - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

antion2naiton2nasion1natino2nationn1natoin2nattion1nnation1
Edit distance from "nation"

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 "nation"?
"nation" is spelled N-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈneɪʃən/.
What does "nation" mean?
As a noun, "nation" means: A historically constituted, stable community of people, formed based on a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and/or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.
What words are commonly confused with "nation"?
"nation" is commonly confused with "NATO", "native", "notion". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nation" is /ˈneɪʃən/. 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 "nation"?
From Middle English nacioun, nacion, from Old French nacion, from Latin nātiōnem, accusative of nātiō (“nation”). Displaced native Old English þēod. 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 "nation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

prices#1,403helped#1,395caused#1,388theory#1,412

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

killing9 variantscomment9 variantsbroken9 variantsagency9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list