per diem
/pɚˈdi.əm/
"per-diem" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“per diem” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adjective - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Per day; daily.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | per diem |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /pɚˈdi.əm/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “per diem” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for per diem is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɚˈdi.əm/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Per day; daily.".
No misspelling variants are generated for per diem in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin per + diem (“day”). The correct English form is per diem, spelled P-E-R- -D-I-E-M.
Definition
- 1Per day; daily.
Etymology
From Latin per + diem (“day”).
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “per diem”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-E-R- -D-I-E-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pɚˈdi.əm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.