navel
/ˈneɪvəl/
"navel" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“navel” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #30,895 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #30,895
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The indentation or bump remaining in the abdomen of placental mammals where the umbilical cord was attached before birth.
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 | navel |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈneɪvəl/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #30,895 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “navel” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for navel is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈneɪvəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #30,895 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for navel, with forms such as "anvel", "naevl", and "navell". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "navy", "Noel", "neve", 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 navel, navele, from Old English nafola, from Proto-West Germanic *nabulō, from Proto-Germanic *nabalô (“navel”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nóbʰōl (“navel”), diminutive of *h₃nebʰ- (“hub; navel”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian nâle… The correct English form is navel, spelled N-A-V-E-L.
Definition
- 1The indentation or bump remaining in the abdomen of placental mammals where the umbilical cord was attached before birth.
- 2The central part or point of anything; the middle.
- 3A navel orange.
- 4An eye on the underside of a carronade for securing it to a carriage.
Etymology
From Middle English navel, navele, from Old English nafola, from Proto-West Germanic *nabulō, from Proto-Germanic *nabalô (“navel”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nóbʰōl (“navel”), diminutive of *h₃nebʰ- (“hub; navel”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian nâle (“navel”), Dutch navel (“navel”), German Nabel (“navel”), Vilamovian nowuł (“navel”), Yiddish נאָפּל (nopl, “navel”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk navle (“navel”), Icelandic nafli (“navel”), Swedish navel (“navel”); also Irish imleacán (“navel”), Scottish Gaelic ilmeag, imleag (“navel; nave”), Latin umbilīcus (“navel”), Greek αφαλός (afalós), ομφαλός (omfalós, “navel”), Old Prussian nabis (“navel”), Armenian անիվ (aniv, “wheel”), Central Kurdish ناوک (nawik, “navel”), Persian ناف (nâf, “navel”), Sanskrit नाभि (nābhi, “navel; centre”), Doublet of omphalos. More at nave.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: anvel,naevl,navell,navle,navvel,nnavel,nvael
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of navel - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "navel"?
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Using “navel”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-A-V-E-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈneɪvəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “navy” - see the side-by-side comparison. navel vs navy
- 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.