nightingale

Name: nightingale, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈnaɪtɪŋɡeɪl/

//ˈnaɪtɪŋɡeɪl// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“nightingale” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,918. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,918
frequency rank, English: 24,391
“N” headwords: 17
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A Eurasian and African songbird, Luscinia megarhynchos, family Muscicapidae, famed for its beautiful singing at night; a common nightingale.

Key facts for nightingale
Property	Value
Headword	nightingale
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈnaɪtɪŋɡeɪl/
Letters	11
Frequency rank	#19,918
Misspellings tracked	17
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “nightingale” 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). nightingale lands here:

#19,918

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around nightingale (IPA /ˈnaɪtɪŋɡeɪl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,918 among 24,391 “N” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A Eurasian and African songbird, Luscinia megarhynchos, family Muscicapidae, famed for its beautiful singing at night; a common nightingale.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for nightingale, with forms such as "inghtingale", "ngihtingale", and "nigghtingale". 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. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English nyghtyngale, nightingale, niȝtingale, alteration (with intrusive n) of nyghtgale, nightegale, from Old English nihtegala, nihtegale (“nightingale; night-raven”, literally “night-singer”), from Proto-West Germanic *nahtigalā (“n… The correct English form is nightingale, spelled N-I-G-H-T-I-N-G-A-L-E.

Definition

1
A Eurasian and African songbird, Luscinia megarhynchos, family Muscicapidae, famed for its beautiful singing at night; a common nightingale.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English nyghtyngale, nightingale, niȝtingale, alteration (with intrusive n) of nyghtgale, nightegale, from Old English nihtegala, nihtegale (“nightingale; night-raven”, literally “night-singer”), from Proto-West Germanic *nahtigalā (“nightingale”), equivalent to a compound of night + gale. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Noachtegoal (“nightingale”), Dutch nachtegaal (“nightingale”), German Low German Nachtigall (“nightingale”), German Nachtigall (“nightingale”), Danish nattergal (“thrush nightingale”), Swedish näktergal (“nightingale”), Icelandic næturgali (“nightingale”).

Synonyms

philomel

This word in other languages

ruiseñor(Español)rossignol philomèle(Français)Nachtigall(Deutsch)rouxinol(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

inghtingale
ngihtingale
nigghtingale
nighhtingale
nighitngale
nightignale
nightinagle
nightingael
nightingalle
nightinggale
nightinglae
nightinngale
nightnigale
nighttingale
nigthingale
nihgtingale
nnightingale

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "nightingale"

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 "nightingale"?

"nightingale" is spelled N-I-G-H-T-I-N-G-A-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnaɪtɪŋɡeɪl/.

What does "nightingale" mean?

As a noun, "nightingale" means: A Eurasian and African songbird, Luscinia megarhynchos, family Muscicapidae, famed for its beautiful singing at night; a common nightingale.

What are common misspellings of "nightingale"?

Common misspellings include "inghtingale", "ngihtingale", "nigghtingale", "nighhtingale", "nighitngale". The correct spelling is "nightingale".

How do you pronounce "nightingale"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nightingale" is /ˈnaɪtɪŋɡeɪl/. 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 "nightingale"?

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 “nightingale”

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

The one correct English spelling is N-I-G-H-T-I-N-G-A-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˈnaɪtɪŋɡeɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

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.