null
/nʌl/
"null" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“null” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,735 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #10,735
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 4
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A non-existent or empty value or set of values.
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 | null |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /nʌl/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #10,735 |
| Misspellings tracked | 4 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “null” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for null is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /nʌl/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,735 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 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 null, with forms such as "nlul", "nnull", and "nul". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "nut", "nun", "Nur", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French nul, from Latin nūllus. The correct English form is null, spelled N-U-L-L.
Definition
- 1A non-existent or empty value or set of values.
- 2Zero quantity of expressions; nothing.
- 3Something that has no force or meaning.
- 4The null character; the ASCII or Unicode character (␀), represented by a zero value, which indicates no character and is sometimes used as a string terminator.
- 5The attribute of an entity that has no valid value.
- 6One of the beads in nulled work.
- 7The null hypothesis.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French nul, from Latin nūllus.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: nlul,nnull,nul,unll
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of null - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "null"?
What does "null" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "null"?
How do you pronounce "null"?
What is the origin of the word "null"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “null”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-U-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /nʌl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “nut” - see the side-by-side comparison. null vs nut
- 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.