niece

/niːs/

//niːs// noun

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

"niece" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“niece” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,371 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#9,371
frequency rank, English
5
letters
6
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A daughter of one’s sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either the daughter of one's brother ("fraternal niece"), or of one's sister ("sororal niece").

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

niece vs nine
60% similar
niece vs Nike
40% similar
niece vs Nile
40% similar

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

Key facts for niece
PropertyValue
Headwordniece
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/niːs/
Letters5
Frequency rank#9,371
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “niece” 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). niece 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 niece is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /niːs/. Corpus data places it at rank #9,371 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for niece, with forms such as "inece", "neice", and "nicee". 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 18 confusable-pair relationships, "nine", "Nike", "Nile", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English nece (“niece, granddaughter”), from Old French nece (“niece, granddaughter”) (Modern French nièce (“niece”)) from Late Latin neptia, representing Latin neptis (“granddaughter”), from Proto-Indo-European *néptih₂ (“granddaughter, niece”).… The correct English form is niece, spelled N-I-E-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A daughter of one’s sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either the daughter of one's brother ("fraternal niece"), or of one's sister ("sororal niece").
  2. 2
    A daughter of one’s cousin or cousin-in-law

Etymology

From Middle English nece (“niece, granddaughter”), from Old French nece (“niece, granddaughter”) (Modern French nièce (“niece”)) from Late Latin neptia, representing Latin neptis (“granddaughter”), from Proto-Indo-European *néptih₂ (“granddaughter, niece”). Doublet of nift.

Synonyms

nift

Antonyms

nephewauntuncle

This word in other languages

sobrina(Español)nièce(Français)Nichte(Deutsch)sobrinha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: inece,neice,nicee,niecce,nieec,nniece

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

inece2neice2nicee2niecce1nieec2nniece1
Edit distance from "niece"

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 "niece"?
"niece" is spelled N-I-E-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /niːs/.
What does "niece" mean?
As a noun, "niece" means: A daughter of one’s sibling, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; either the daughter of one's brother ("fraternal niece"), or of one's sister ("sororal niece").
What words are commonly confused with "niece"?
"niece" is commonly confused with "nine", "Nike", "Nile". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "niece"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "niece" is /niːs/. 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 "niece"?
From Middle English nece (“niece, granddaughter”), from Old French nece (“niece, granddaughter”) (Modern French nièce (“niece”)) from Late Latin neptia, representing Latin neptis (“granddaughter”), from Proto-Indo-European *néptih₂ (“granddaughter... 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 “niece”

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

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