pang
/pæŋ/
"pang" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pang” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #25,163 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #25,163
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A paroxysm of extreme physical pain or anguish; a feeling of sudden and transitory agony; a throe.
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 | pang |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /pæŋ/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #25,163 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pang” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for pang is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pæŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #25,163 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for pang, with forms such as "apng", "pagn", and "pangg". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "PG", "pay", "pen", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: The origin of the noun is uncertain; it is possibly derived from Middle English *pange, perhaps an altered form of prange, prōnge (“affliction, agony, pain; pointed instrument”) as in prongys of deth (“pangs of death, death throes”), from Anglo-Latin pronga… The correct English form is pang, spelled P-A-N-G.
Definition
- 1A paroxysm of extreme physical pain or anguish; a feeling of sudden and transitory agony; a throe.
- 2A sudden sharp feeling of an emotional or mental nature, as of joy or sorrow.
Etymology
The origin of the noun is uncertain; it is possibly derived from Middle English *pange, perhaps an altered form of prange, prōnge (“affliction, agony, pain; pointed instrument”) as in prongys of deth (“pangs of death, death throes”), from Anglo-Latin pronga, of unknown origin. Perhaps connected with Middle Dutch prange, pranghe (“instrument for pinching”) (modern Dutch prang (“horse restraint; fetter, neck iron”)), Middle Low German prange (“pole, stake; (possibly) kind of pillory or stocks”), Old English pyngan (“to prick”). The word may thus be related to prong. The verb is derived from the noun.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: apng,pagn,pangg,panng,pnag,ppang
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pang - 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 "pang"?
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Using “pang”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pæŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “PG” - see the side-by-side comparison. pang vs PG
- 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.