parsley

/ˈpɑː(ɹ)sli/

//ˈpɑː(ɹ)sli// noun

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

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

The verdict

“parsley” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,454. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,454
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A bright green, biennial herb, Petroselinum crispum, having many cultivars.

Corpus desk

Index EN-parsley · parsley · English

parsley · rank #20,454 · 11 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,454
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pendulum

Nearest frequency peer: pendulum (+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 “parsley”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “parsley” 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).

parsley vs partly
71% similar
parsley vs Presley
57% similar
parsley vs parse
71% similar

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

Key facts for parsley
PropertyValue
Headwordparsley
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɑː(ɹ)sli/
Letters7
Frequency rank#20,454
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “parsley”

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).parsleylands 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 “pendulum” (#20,455), “parasitic” (#20,452), “petit” (#20,456). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “parsley” is #20,454. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around parsley (IPA /ˈpɑː(ɹ)sli/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #20,454 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for parsley, with forms such as "aprsley", "parlsey", and "parrsley". 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 8 confusable-pair relationships, "partly", "Presley", "parse", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English persely, from Old French peresil, from Latin petroselīnum, from Ancient Greek πετροσέλῑνον (petrosélīnon, “parsley”), from πέτρος (pétros, “rock, stone”) + σέλῑνον (sélīnon, “celery”). Displaced Old English petersiliġe, which goes back t… The correct English form is parsley, spelled P-A-R-S-L-E-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A bright green, biennial herb, Petroselinum crispum, having many cultivars.
  2. 2
    The leaves of this plant used in Middle Eastern, European, and American cooking.
  3. 3
    Any herb resembling parsley, such as cilantro (Chinese parsley) or chervil (French parsley).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Though the parsley seemed to have died, outside it started to regenerate. New crimped leaves came free from the sprigs and spread.

Etymology

From Middle English persely, from Old French peresil, from Latin petroselīnum, from Ancient Greek πετροσέλῑνον (petrosélīnon, “parsley”), from πέτρος (pétros, “rock, stone”) + σέλῑνον (sélīnon, “celery”). Displaced Old English petersiliġe, which goes back to the same root.

This word in other languages

perejil(Español)persil(Français)Petersilie(Deutsch)salsa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aprsley
  • parlsey
  • parrsley
  • parsely
  • parsleyy
  • parslley
  • parslye
  • parssley
  • pasrley
  • pparsley
  • prasley

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of parsley - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

aprsley2parlsey2parrsley1parsely2parsleyy1parslley1parslye2parssley1
Edit distance from "parsley"

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 "parsley"?
"parsley" is spelled P-A-R-S-L-E-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɑː(ɹ)sli/.
What does "parsley" mean?
As a noun, "parsley" means: A bright green, biennial herb, Petroselinum crispum, having many cultivars.
What words are commonly confused with "parsley"?
"parsley" is commonly confused with "partly", "Presley", "parse". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "parsley"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "parsley" is /ˈpɑː(ɹ)sli/. 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 "parsley"?
From Middle English persely, from Old French peresil, from Latin petroselīnum, from Ancient Greek πετροσέλῑνον (petrosélīnon, “parsley”), from πέτρος (pétros, “rock, stone”) + σέλῑνον (sélīnon, “celery”). Displaced Old English petersiliġe, which g... 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 "parsley", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

potency#20,462Presley#20,464pretext#20,465nagging#20,439

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

outweigh11 variantsmonoxide11 variantsliterate11 variantsKristin11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list