nettle
[ˈnɛɾʊl]
"nettle" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“nettle” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #41,276 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #41,276
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
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 | nettle |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈnɛɾʊl] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #41,276 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “nettle” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for nettle is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈnɛɾʊl]. Corpus data places it at rank #41,276 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 24 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 nettle, with forms such as "enttle", "netle", and "netlte". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "Neale", "needle", "neatly", 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 netle, netel, from Old English netle, netele, netel, from Proto-West Germanic *natilā (cognate with Old Saxon netila, Middle Dutch netele (modern Dutch netel), German Nessel, Middle Danish nædlæ (“nettle”)), a diminutive of Proto-Germani… The correct English form is nettle, spelled N-E-T-T-L-E.
Definition
- 1Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
- 2Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
- 3Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
- 4Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
- 5Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
- 6Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
- 7Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
- 8Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
- 9Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
- 10Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
- 11Any plant whose foliage is covered with stinging, mildly poisonous hairs, causing an instant rash.
- 12Certain plants that have spines or prickles:
- 13Certain plants that have spines or prickles:
- 14Certain plants that have spines or prickles:
- 15Certain plants that have spines or prickles:
- 16Certain plants that have spines or prickles:
- 17Certain non-stinging plants, mostly in the family Lamiaceae, that resemble the species of Urtica:
- 18Certain non-stinging plants, mostly in the family Lamiaceae, that resemble the species of Urtica:
- 19Certain non-stinging plants, mostly in the family Lamiaceae, that resemble the species of Urtica:
- 20Certain non-stinging plants, mostly in the family Lamiaceae, that resemble the species of Urtica:
- 21Certain non-stinging plants, mostly in the family Lamiaceae, that resemble the species of Urtica:
- 22Certain non-stinging plants, mostly in the family Lamiaceae, that resemble the species of Urtica:
- 23Certain non-stinging plants, mostly in the family Lamiaceae, that resemble the species of Urtica:
- 24Loosely, anything which causes a similarly stinging rash, such as a jellyfish or sea nettle.
Etymology
From Middle English netle, netel, from Old English netle, netele, netel, from Proto-West Germanic *natilā (cognate with Old Saxon netila, Middle Dutch netele (modern Dutch netel), German Nessel, Middle Danish nædlæ (“nettle”)), a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *natǭ (of unknown origin, perhaps from the same source as net).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: enttle,netle,netlte,nettel,nettlle,nnettle,ntetle
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of nettle - 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 "nettle"?
What does "nettle" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "nettle"?
How do you pronounce "nettle"?
What is the origin of the word "nettle"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “nettle”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-E-T-T-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈnɛɾʊl] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Neale” - see the side-by-side comparison. nettle vs Neale
- 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.