pecan
/piːˈkɑːn/
"pecan" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pecan” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #31,697 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #31,697
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A deciduous tree, Carya illinoinensis, of the central and southern United States, having deeply furrowed bark, pinnately compound leaves, and edible nuts.
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 | pecan |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /piːˈkɑːn/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #31,697 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pecan” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for pecan is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /piːˈkɑːn/. Corpus data places it at rank #31,697 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for pecan, with forms such as "epcan", "pcean", and "peacn". 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, "pen", "plan", "Penn", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French pacane and at first spelt paccan. The French word derives from an Algonquian word, perhaps Miami (Illinois) pakani. Compare Cree pakan (“hard nut”), Ojibwe bagaan, Abenaki pagann, bagôn, pagôn (“nut; walnut, hazelnut”). The correct English form is pecan, spelled P-E-C-A-N.
Definition
- 1A deciduous tree, Carya illinoinensis, of the central and southern United States, having deeply furrowed bark, pinnately compound leaves, and edible nuts.
- 2A smooth, thin-shelled, edible oval nut of this tree.
- 3A half of the edible portion of the inside of this nut.
Etymology
Borrowed from French pacane and at first spelt paccan. The French word derives from an Algonquian word, perhaps Miami (Illinois) pakani. Compare Cree pakan (“hard nut”), Ojibwe bagaan, Abenaki pagann, bagôn, pagôn (“nut; walnut, hazelnut”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: epcan,pcean,peacn,pecann,peccan,pecna,ppecan
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pecan - 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.
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
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Using “pecan”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-E-C-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /piːˈkɑːn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “pen” - see the side-by-side comparison. pecan vs pen
- 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.