Nina
/ˈniːnə/
"nina" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Nina” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,963 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #8,963
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 4
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A female given name in continuous use since the 19th century.
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 | Nina |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈniːnə/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #8,963 |
| Misspellings tracked | 4 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Nina” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Nina is 4 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈniːnə/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,963 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for Nina, with forms such as "nian", "ninna", and "nnia". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "NN", "non", "NSA", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed into English in the nineteenth century, apparently from several sources. Many borrowings are of Russian Ни́на (Nína), the name of a Georgian saint in the fourth century, also known as Nino, of obscure origin and meaning, possibly connected with the… The correct English form is Nina, spelled N-I-N-A.
Definition
- 1A female given name in continuous use since the 19th century.
- 2The Babylonian goddess of the watery deep, daughter of Ea.
- 3Ellipsis of Nina from Pasadena.
Etymology
Borrowed into English in the nineteenth century, apparently from several sources. Many borrowings are of Russian Ни́на (Nína), the name of a Georgian saint in the fourth century, also known as Nino, of obscure origin and meaning, possibly connected with the Assyrian king Ninus. Others are of an Italian short form of diminutives like Annina from Anna and Giovannina from Giovanna. Phonologically or orthographically similar names are present in several languages, including Afrikaans, Hindi, Italian, Persian, Romanian, Russian, Spanish and some Native American languages. In many of those, it is a nickname for names ending in -ina or -nina. (hidden message in crossword): After Nina Hirschfeld, the daughter of the American caricaturist Al Hirschfeld; her name was often concealed in his drawings.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: nian,ninna,nnia,nnina
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Nina - 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.
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 "Nina"?
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Using “Nina”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-I-N-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈniːnə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “NN” - see the side-by-side comparison. Nina vs NN
- 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.