nephew

/ˈnɛf.ju/

//ˈnɛf.ju// noun

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

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

The verdict

“nephew” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,034. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,034
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A son of one's sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either a son of one's brother (fraternal nephew) or a son of one's sister (sororal nephew).

Corpus desk

Index EN-nephew · nephew · English

nephew · rank #7,034 · 9 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,034
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH NATO

Nearest frequency peer: NATO (-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 “nephew”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “nephew” 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).

nephew vs nether
67% similar

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

Key facts for nephew
PropertyValue
Headwordnephew
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈnɛf.ju/
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,034
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “nephew”

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).nephewlands 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 “NATO” (#7,033), “notably” (#7,035), “musician” (#7,032). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nephew” is #7,034. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around nephew (IPA /ˈnɛf.ju/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,034 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for nephew, with forms such as "enphew", "nehpew", and "nepehw". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "nether", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English nevew, neveu (“nephew, grandson”), from Old French neveu, from Latin nepos, nepōtem, from Proto-Italic *nepōts (“nephew, grandson”), whence also French neveu, Italian nipote. Displaced or absorbed the inherited English neve (“nephew, gra… The correct English form is nephew, spelled N-E-P-H-E-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    A son of one's sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either a son of one's brother (fraternal nephew) or a son of one's sister (sororal nephew).
  2. 2
    A son of one's cousin or cousin-in-law
  3. 3
    A son of one's child.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Hir father many a time and oft would say my daughter deere, Of Nephewes thou my debtour art, their Graundsires heart to chéere.

Etymology

From Middle English nevew, neveu (“nephew, grandson”), from Old French neveu, from Latin nepos, nepōtem, from Proto-Italic *nepōts (“nephew, grandson”), whence also French neveu, Italian nipote. Displaced or absorbed the inherited English neve (“nephew, grandson, male cousin”), from Middle English neve, from Old English nefa, from Proto-West Germanic *nefō, from Proto-Germanic *nefô (“nephew, grandson”), whence Dutch neef, German Neffe. All ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *népōts (“grandchild, sister's son”). Cognate with Serbo-Croatian nećak, Irish nia, Persian نوه (nave). Spelt with -ph- by readaptation to Latin nepos since the 15th century, which later triggered the spelling pronunciation with /f/.

This word in other languages

sobrino(Español)neveu(Français)Neffe(Deutsch)sobrinho(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • enphew
  • nehpew
  • nepehw
  • nepheww
  • nephhew
  • nephwe
  • nepphew
  • nnephew
  • npehew

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of nephew - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

enphew2nehpew2nepehw2nepheww1nephhew1nephwe2nepphew1nnephew1
Edit distance from "nephew"

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 "nephew"?
"nephew" is spelled N-E-P-H-E-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnɛf.ju/.
What does "nephew" mean?
As a noun, "nephew" means: A son of one's sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either a son of one's brother (fraternal nephew) or a son of one's sister (sororal nephew).
What words are commonly confused with "nephew"?
"nephew" is commonly confused with "nether". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nephew"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nephew" is /ˈnɛf.ju/. 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 "nephew"?
From Middle English nevew, neveu (“nephew, grandson”), from Old French neveu, from Latin nepos, nepōtem, from Proto-Italic *nepōts (“nephew, grandson”), whence also French neveu, Italian nipote. Displaced or absorbed the inherited English neve (“n... 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 "nephew", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

liquor#7,025prizes#7,046insert#7,019salmon#7,055

Similar misspelling depth

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

frames9 variantsenters9 variantsTravis9 variantswolves9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list