Philadelphia

/fɪləˈdɛlfi.ə/

//fɪləˈdɛlfi.ə// name

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

"philadelphia" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Philadelphia” has 18 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,519. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,519
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords
18
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The largest city in Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of coterminous Philadelphia County; the former capital of the United States.

Key facts for Philadelphia
PropertyValue
HeadwordPhiladelphia
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/fɪləˈdɛlfi.ə/
Letters12
Frequency rank#3,519
Misspellings tracked18
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Philadelphia” 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). Philadelphia lands here:

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

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

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 18 spelling variants around Philadelphia (IPA /fɪləˈdɛlfi.ə/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #3,519 among 46,516 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for Philadelphia, with forms such as "hpiladelphia", "phhiladelphia", and "phialdelphia". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin Philadelphia, from Ancient Greek Φιλαδέλφεια (Philadélpheia), from φιλάδελφος (philádelphos, “brother/sibling-loving”) + -εια (-eia, “-ia: forming placenames”), from the combining form of φῐλέειν (phĭléein, “to love”) + ἀδελφός (adelphós, “brothe… The correct English form is Philadelphia, spelled P-H-I-L-A-D-E-L-P-H-I-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    The largest city in Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of coterminous Philadelphia County; the former capital of the United States.
  2. 2
    Former name of Amman: the capital of Jordan.
  3. 3
    Former name of Alaşehir: a city, municipality, and district of Manisa Province, Turkey.
  4. 4
    A locale in the United States; named for the city in Pennsylvania.
  5. 5
    A locale in the United States; named for the city in Pennsylvania.
  6. 6
    A locale in the United States; named for the city in Pennsylvania.
  7. 7
    A locale in the United States; named for the city in Pennsylvania.
  8. 8
    A locale in the United States; named for the city in Pennsylvania.
  9. 9
    A village in Brandenburg, Germany; named for the city in Pennsylvania.
  10. 10
    A village in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England; named for the city in Pennsylvania (OS grid ref NZ3352).
  11. 11
    A suburb of Cape Town, South Africa.

Etymology

From Latin Philadelphia, from Ancient Greek Φιλαδέλφεια (Philadélpheia), from φιλάδελφος (philádelphos, “brother/sibling-loving”) + -εια (-eia, “-ia: forming placenames”), from the combining form of φῐλέειν (phĭléein, “to love”) + ἀδελφός (adelphós, “brother, sibling”). In reference to the city in Turkey, named for the loyal Attalus II Philadelphus of Pergamon. In reference to the city in Jordan, named for the incestuous Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt. In reference to the American city, named for the ancient towns as well as the Quaker William Penn's aim of fostering religious tolerance. Doublet of Filadelfia.

This word in other languages

Filadelfia(Español)Philadelphie(Français)Philadelphia(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: hpiladelphia,phhiladelphia,phialdelphia,philaddelphia,philadelhpia,philadellphia,philadelphai,philadelphhia,philadelpiha,philadelpphia,philadeplhia,philadlephia,philaedlphia,phildaelphia,philladelphia,phliadelphia,pihladelphia,pphiladelphia

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hpiladelphia2phhiladelphia1phialdelphia2philaddelphia1philadelhpia2philadellphia1philadelphai2philadelphhia1
Edit distance from "Philadelphia"

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 "Philadelphia"?
"Philadelphia" is spelled P-H-I-L-A-D-E-L-P-H-I-A. The IPA pronunciation is /fɪləˈdɛlfi.ə/.
What does "Philadelphia" mean?
As a proper noun, "Philadelphia" means: The largest city in Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of coterminous Philadelphia County; the former capital of the United States.
What are common misspellings of "Philadelphia"?
Common misspellings include "hpiladelphia", "phhiladelphia", "phialdelphia", "philaddelphia", "philadelhpia". The correct spelling is "Philadelphia".
How do you pronounce "Philadelphia"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Philadelphia" is /fɪləˈdɛlfi.ə/. 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 "Philadelphia"?
From Latin Philadelphia, from Ancient Greek Φιλαδέλφεια (Philadélpheia), from φιλάδελφος (philádelphos, “brother/sibling-loving”) + -εια (-eia, “-ia: forming placenames”), from the combining form of φῐλέειν (phĭléein, “to love”) + ἀδελφός (adelphó... 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 “Philadelphia”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-H-I-L-A-D-E-L-P-H-I-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /fɪləˈdɛlfi.ə/ (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

Same frequency band

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