pancake

/ˈpæn.keɪk/

//ˈpæn.keɪk// noun

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

"pancake" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pancake” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,388. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,388
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A thin batter cake fried in a pan or on a griddle in oil or butter; in particular:

Corpus desk

Index EN-pancake · pancake · English

pancake · rank #18,388 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,388
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH palate

Nearest frequency peer: palate (-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 “pancake”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “pancake” 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).

pancake vs partake
71% similar
pancake vs pancakes
88% similar

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

Key facts for pancake
PropertyValue
Headwordpancake
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpæn.keɪk/
Letters7
Frequency rank#18,388
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “pancake”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “palate” (#18,387), “parkway” (#18,389), “pacing” (#18,386). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pancake” is #18,388. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around pancake (IPA /ˈpæn.keɪk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,388 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for pancake, with forms such as "apncake", "pacnake", and "panacke". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "partake", "pancakes", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Pre-Greekder.? Ancient Greek πατάνη (patánē)bor. Latin patina Late Latin pannabor. Proto-Germanic *pannǭ Proto-West Germanic *pannā Old English panne Middle English panne Proto-Germanic *kakǭ Old Norse kakabor. Middle English cake Middle Engl… The correct English form is pancake, spelled P-A-N-C-A-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A thin batter cake fried in a pan or on a griddle in oil or butter; in particular:
  2. 2
    A thin batter cake fried in a pan or on a griddle in oil or butter; in particular:
  3. 3
    A kind of makeup, consisting of a thick layer of a compressed powder.
  4. 4
    A type of throw, usually with a ring where the prop is thrown in such a way that it rotates round an axis of the diameter of the prop.
  5. 5
    Anything very thin and flat.
  6. 6
    Composite leather made of scraps, glue and board, by extension of (4), material originally used for insoles, but later used also for heels and even soles.
  7. 7
    A box on which an actor stands to make them appear taller.
  8. 8
    A defensive play in which the ball bounces off the top of a hand that has been pressed flat against the floor.
  9. 9
    An attractive young woman.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Mrs. America is holding a plate of pancakes in one hand and a fork with a slice of pancake in the other.
  2. And us, me wearing pancake with my eyebrows recently plucked archly, done by Little Amber, the beauty-school student quean, in Bryant Park.

Etymology

Etymology tree Pre-Greekder.? Ancient Greek πατάνη (patánē)bor. Latin patina Late Latin pannabor. Proto-Germanic *pannǭ Proto-West Germanic *pannā Old English panne Middle English panne Proto-Germanic *kakǭ Old Norse kakabor. Middle English cake Middle English panne cake English pancake Inherited from Middle English pancake, panne cake, pankake, ponkake. By surface analysis, pan + cake. Perhaps adapted from Middle Low German pankôke, pannekôke, from Old Saxon *pannakōko (suggested by derivatives Old Saxon pannakōkilo and pannakōkilīn), where the compound is much older; compare Old High German phankuohho (8th century), whence Middle High German phankuoche, German Pfannkuchen (“pancake”); further Saterland Frisian Ponkouke, Ponkuuke (“pancake”), West Frisian pankoek (“pancake”), Dutch pannenkoek (“pancake”), German Low German Pannkook (“pancake”). The juggling sense is by analogy with a pancake being tossed in a pan.

Synonyms

crêpecrepeflapjackgriddle cakehotcakepikelet

This word in other languages

panqueca(Español)crêpe(Français)Pfannkuchen(Deutsch)panqueca(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apncake
  • pacnake
  • panacke
  • pancaek
  • pancakke
  • panccake
  • panckae
  • panncake
  • pnacake
  • ppancake

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

apncake2pacnake2panacke2pancaek2pancakke1panccake1panckae2panncake1
Edit distance from "pancake"

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 "pancake"?
"pancake" is spelled P-A-N-C-A-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpæn.keɪk/.
What does "pancake" mean?
As a noun, "pancake" means: A thin batter cake fried in a pan or on a griddle in oil or butter; in particular:
What words are commonly confused with "pancake"?
"pancake" is commonly confused with "partake", "pancakes". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "pancake"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pancake" is /ˈpæn.keɪk/. 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 "pancake"?
Etymology tree Pre-Greekder.? Ancient Greek πατάνη (patánē)bor. Latin patina Late Latin pannabor. Proto-Germanic *pannǭ Proto-West Germanic *pannā Old English panne Middle English panne Proto-Germanic *kakǭ Old Norse kakabor. Middle English cake M... 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 "pancake", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

parkway#18,389pennies#18,393prowess#18,401Prussia#18,402

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Ramirez10 variantsRenault10 variantslearner10 variantsSabrina10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list