Perth

/pɜːθ/

//pɜːθ// name

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

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

The verdict

“Perth” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,957 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.

#7,957
frequency rank, English
5
letters
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A city in Perth and Kinross council area, Scotland, historically in Perthshire.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Perth vs pet
40% similar
Perth vs port
40% similar
Perth vs Pete
60% similar

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

Key facts for Perth
PropertyValue
HeadwordPerth
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/pɜːθ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,957
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Perth” 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). Perth lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Perth is 5 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɜːθ/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,957 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 15 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Perth, with forms such as "eprth", "perht", and "perrth". 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, "pet", "port", "Pete", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Pictish *ᚚᚓᚏᚈ (pert) meaning “wood, copse, thicket”, related to Welsh perth and perhaps Proto-Celtic *kʷerxtā (from Proto-Indo-European *pérkʷus (“oak”). The correct English form is Perth, spelled P-E-R-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A city in Perth and Kinross council area, Scotland, historically in Perthshire.
  2. 2
    The state capital of Western Australia.
  3. 3
    A local government area in Western Australia; in full, the City of Perth.
  4. 4
    A town, the county seat of Lanark County, Ontario, Canada.
  5. 5
    A town in Northern Midlands council area, eastern Tasmania, Australia.
  6. 6
    A river in the Southern Alps West Coast region, New Zealand, a tributary of the Whataroa.
  7. 7
    A locale in the United States.
  8. 8
    A locale in the United States.
  9. 9
    A locale in the United States.
  10. 10
    A locale in the United States.
  11. 11
    A locale in the United States.
  12. 12
    A locale in the United States.
  13. 13
    A locale in the United States.
  14. 14
    A Scottish earldom.
  15. 15
    A surname

Etymology

From Pictish *ᚚᚓᚏᚈ (pert) meaning “wood, copse, thicket”, related to Welsh perth and perhaps Proto-Celtic *kʷerxtā (from Proto-Indo-European *pérkʷus (“oak”).

This word in other languages

Perth(Français)Perth(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: eprth,perht,perrth,perthh,pertth,petrh,pperth,preth

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

eprth2perht2perrth1perthh1pertth1petrh2pperth1preth2
Edit distance from "Perth"

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 "Perth"?
"Perth" is spelled P-E-R-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /pɜːθ/.
What does "Perth" mean?
As a proper noun, "Perth" means: A city in Perth and Kinross council area, Scotland, historically in Perthshire.
What words are commonly confused with "Perth"?
"Perth" is commonly confused with "pet", "port", "Pete". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Perth"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Perth" is /pɜːθ/. 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 "Perth"?
From Pictish *ᚚᚓᚏᚈ (pert) meaning “wood, copse, thicket”, related to Welsh perth and perhaps Proto-Celtic *kʷerxtā (from Proto-Indo-European *pérkʷus (“oak”). 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 “Perth”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-E-R-T-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /pɜːθ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “pet” - see the side-by-side comparison. Perth vs pet
  • 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.

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

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