Pekin

name

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

"pekin" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Pekin” is uncommon English (frequency #64,605 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,605
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Obsolete form of Peking.

Key facts for Pekin
PropertyValue
HeadwordPekin
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters5
Frequency rank#64,605
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Pekin” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Pekin is uncommon English at frequency #64,605 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as aproper noun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for Pekin in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Compare Spanish Pekín, Portuguese Pequim, Dutch Peking, French Pékin, German Peking, Italian Pechino. The correct English form is Pekin, spelled P-E-K-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Obsolete form of Peking.
  2. 2
    A city, the county seat of Tazewell County, Illinois.
  3. 3
    A hamlet in New York.
  4. 4
    A city and village in North Dakota.

Etymology

Compare Spanish Pekín, Portuguese Pequim, Dutch Peking, French Pékin, German Peking, Italian Pechino.

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 "Pekin"?
"Pekin" is spelled P-E-K-I-N.
What does "Pekin" mean?
As a proper noun, "Pekin" means: Obsolete form of Peking.
What is the origin of the word "Pekin"?
Compare Spanish Pekín, Portuguese Pequim, Dutch Peking, French Pékin, German Peking, Italian Pechino. 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.

Using “Pekin”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-E-K-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list