nostalgia

/nɒˈstæld͡ʒə/

//nɒˈstæld͡ʒə// noun

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

"nostalgia" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nostalgia” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,647. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,647
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A longing for home or familiar surroundings; homesickness.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nostalgia · nostalgia · English

nostalgia · rank #12,647 · 13 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #12,647
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH Nicolas

Nearest frequency peer: Nicolas (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “nostalgia”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “nostalgia” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

nostalgia vs nostalgic
89% similar

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

Key facts for nostalgia
PropertyValue
Headwordnostalgia
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/nɒˈstæld͡ʒə/
Letters9
Frequency rank#12,647
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “nostalgia”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).nostalgialands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Nicolas” (#12,646), “ottoman” (#12,648), “paddy” (#12,649). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nostalgia” is #12,647. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around nostalgia (IPA /nɒˈstæld͡ʒə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,647 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for nostalgia, with forms such as "nnostalgia", "nosatlgia", and "nosstalgia". 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. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "nostalgic", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From New Latin nostalgia, coined by Johannes Hofer in 1688 from Ancient Greek νόστος (nóstos, “returning home”) + ἄλγος (álgos, “pain”), calquing German Heimweh. Ancient Greek *νοσταλγία (*nostalgía) is unattested. Transferred sense probably influenced by F… The correct English form is nostalgia, spelled N-O-S-T-A-L-G-I-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A longing for home or familiar surroundings; homesickness.
  2. 2
    A bittersweet yearning for the things of the past.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how nostalgia appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Seeing food at camp similar to his mother's cooking sent a wave of nostalgia through him.
  2. I have an idea that some men are born out of their due place. Accident has cast them amid certain surroundings, but they have always a nostalgia for a home they know not.

Etymology

From New Latin nostalgia, coined by Johannes Hofer in 1688 from Ancient Greek νόστος (nóstos, “returning home”) + ἄλγος (álgos, “pain”), calquing German Heimweh. Ancient Greek *νοσταλγία (*nostalgía) is unattested. Transferred sense probably influenced by French nostalgie, especially in literature. Compare Italian nostalgia, Spanish nostalgia, Portuguese nostalgia and French nostalgie.

Antonyms

nostopathynostophobia

This word in other languages

nostalgia(Español)nostalgie(Français)Nostalgie(Deutsch)nostalgia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nnostalgia
  • nosatlgia
  • nosstalgia
  • nostaglia
  • nostalgai
  • nostalggia
  • nostaliga
  • nostallgia
  • nostlagia
  • nosttalgia
  • notsalgia
  • nsotalgia
  • onstalgia

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of nostalgia - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

nnostalgia1nosatlgia2nosstalgia1nostaglia2nostalgai2nostalggia1nostaliga2nostallgia1
Edit distance from "nostalgia"

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 "nostalgia"?
"nostalgia" is spelled N-O-S-T-A-L-G-I-A. The IPA pronunciation is /nɒˈstæld͡ʒə/.
What does "nostalgia" mean?
As a noun, "nostalgia" means: A longing for home or familiar surroundings; homesickness.
What words are commonly confused with "nostalgia"?
"nostalgia" is commonly confused with "nostalgic". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "nostalgia"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nostalgia" is /nɒˈstæld͡ʒə/. 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 "nostalgia"?
From New Latin nostalgia, coined by Johannes Hofer in 1688 from Ancient Greek νόστος (nóstos, “returning home”) + ἄλγος (álgos, “pain”), calquing German Heimweh. Ancient Greek *νοσταλγία (*nostalgía) is unattested. Transferred sense probably influ... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "nostalgia", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

paperback#12,650metabolic#12,639lawmakers#12,628regulator#12,668

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

shutdown13 variantsthriving13 variantsfantasies13 variantstrending13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list