novice

/ˈnɒvɪs/

//ˈnɒvɪs// noun

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

"novice" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“novice” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,982. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,982
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A beginner; one who is not very familiar or experienced in a particular subject.

Corpus desk

Index EN-novice · novice · English

novice · rank #16,982 · 8 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,982
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH nodded

Nearest frequency peer: nodded (-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 “novice”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “novice” 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).

novice vs nice
67% similar
novice vs novi
67% similar
novice vs noise
67% similar

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

Key facts for novice
PropertyValue
Headwordnovice
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈnɒvɪs/
Letters6
Frequency rank#16,982
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “novice”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).novicelands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “nodded” (#16,981), “obituary” (#16,983), “natal” (#16,980). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “novice” is #16,982. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around novice (IPA /ˈnɒvɪs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,982 among 1,534 “N” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for novice, with forms such as "nnovice", "noivce", and "novcie". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "nice", "novi", "noise", 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 novice, novys, from Anglo-Norman novice, Middle French novice, itself borrowed from Latin novīcius, later novitius (“new, newly arrived”) (in Late Latin as a noun, masculine novicius, feminine novicia (“one who has newly entered a monast… The correct English form is novice, spelled N-O-V-I-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A beginner; one who is not very familiar or experienced in a particular subject.
  2. 2
    A new member of a religious order accepted on a conditional basis, prior to confirmation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I'm only a novice at coding, and my programs frequently have bugs that more experienced programmers would avoid.
  2. Nor had it been difficult to find a Coptic priest who, together with his youthful novice, chanted the seemingly interminable Egyptian service of the dead […]

Etymology

From Middle English novice, novys, from Anglo-Norman novice, Middle French novice, itself borrowed from Latin novīcius, later novitius (“new, newly arrived”) (in Late Latin as a noun, masculine novicius, feminine novicia (“one who has newly entered a monastery or a convent”)), from novus (“new”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nnovice
  • noivce
  • novcie
  • novicce
  • noviec
  • novvice
  • nvoice
  • onvice

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

nnovice1noivce2novcie2novicce1noviec2novvice1nvoice2onvice2
Edit distance from "novice"

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 "novice"?
"novice" is spelled N-O-V-I-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnɒvɪs/.
What does "novice" mean?
As a noun, "novice" means: A beginner; one who is not very familiar or experienced in a particular subject.
What words are commonly confused with "novice"?
"novice" is commonly confused with "nice", "novi", "noise". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "novice"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "novice" is /ˈnɒvɪs/. 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 "novice"?
From Middle English novice, novys, from Anglo-Norman novice, Middle French novice, itself borrowed from Latin novīcius, later novitius (“new, newly arrived”) (in Late Latin as a noun, masculine novicius, feminine novicia (“one who has newly entere... 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 "novice", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

nodded#16,981NASDAQ#16,979parity#16,989poking#16,997

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

leaned8 variantsjacks8 variantsSalts8 variantsseeker8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list