percentage

/pə(ɹ)ˈsɛntɪd͡ʒ/

//pə(ɹ)ˈsɛntɪd͡ʒ// noun

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

"percentage" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“percentage” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,122. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,122
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The amount, number or rate of something, regarded as part of a total of 100; a part of a whole.

Corpus desk

Index EN-percentage · percentage · English

percentage · rank #3,122 · 15 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,122
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH payments

Nearest frequency peer: payments (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “percentage”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “percentage” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

percentage vs percentile
80% similar
percentage vs parentage
80% similar

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

Key facts for percentage
PropertyValue
Headwordpercentage
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pə(ɹ)ˈsɛntɪd͡ʒ/
Letters10
Frequency rank#3,122
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “percentage” 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).percentagelands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “payments” (#3,121), “pocket” (#3,123), “partnership” (#3,120). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around percentage (IPA /pə(ɹ)ˈsɛntɪd͡ʒ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,122 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for percentage, with forms such as "eprcentage", "pecrentage", and "perccentage". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "percentile", "parentage", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From percent, from Latin per centum (“for every hundred”), + -age (suffix indicating a rate). The correct English form is percentage, spelled P-E-R-C-E-N-T-A-G-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The amount, number or rate of something, regarded as part of a total of 100; a part of a whole.
  2. 2
    A share of the sales, profits, gross margin or similar.
  3. 3
    Benefit or advantage.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. A high percentage of secondary school leavers take a gap year.
  2. The replacement percentages are based largely on household spending data from the Department of Labor's Consumer Expenditure Survey.

Etymology

From percent, from Latin per centum (“for every hundred”), + -age (suffix indicating a rate).

This word in other languages

porcentaje(Español)pourcentage(Français)Prozentsatz(Deutsch)percentagem(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eprcentage
  • pecrentage
  • perccentage
  • percenatge
  • percenntage
  • percentaeg
  • percentagge
  • percentgae
  • percenttage
  • percetnage
  • percnetage
  • perecntage
  • perrcentage
  • ppercentage
  • precentage

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of percentage - 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.

eprcentage2pecrentage2perccentage1percenatge2percenntage1percentaeg2percentagge1percentgae2
Edit distance from "percentage"

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 "percentage"?
"percentage" is spelled P-E-R-C-E-N-T-A-G-E. The IPA pronunciation is /pə(ɹ)ˈsɛntɪd͡ʒ/.
What does "percentage" mean?
As a noun, "percentage" means: The amount, number or rate of something, regarded as part of a total of 100; a part of a whole.
What words are commonly confused with "percentage"?
"percentage" is commonly confused with "percentile", "parentage". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "percentage"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "percentage" is /pə(ɹ)ˈsɛntɪd͡ʒ/. 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 "percentage"?
From percent, from Latin per centum (“for every hundred”), + -age (suffix indicating a rate). 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 "percentage", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

regardless#3,128represents#3,130continuing#3,101consistent#3,100

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

necessarily15 variantssurrounding15 variantshealthcare15 variantsimmigration15 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "percentage". Here's where to go from here.

  • "percentage" maps to 2 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "percentile". View pair
  • 15 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #3,122 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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