nihil
/ˈnɪ.hɪl/
"nihil" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“nihil” is uncommon English (frequency #76,162 among 24,391 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #76,162
- frequency rank, English
- 24,391
- “N” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A nihil dicit.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | nihil |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈnɪ.hɪl/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #76,162 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “nihil” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
nihil is uncommon English at frequency #76,162 among 24,391 “N” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈnɪ.hɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for nihil, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin nihil, nil. The correct English form is nihil, spelled N-I-H-I-L.
Definition
- 1A nihil dicit.
- 2nothingness, nonbeing
Etymology
From Latin nihil, nil.
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
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Using “nihil”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-I-H-I-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈnɪ.hɪl/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.