phoneme

/ˈfəʊ.niːm/

//ˈfəʊ.niːm// noun

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

"phoneme" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“phoneme” is uncommon English (frequency #56,976 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#56,976
frequency rank, English
46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An indivisible unit of sound in a given language. A phoneme is an abstraction of the physical speech sounds (phones) and may encompass several different phones.

Key facts for phoneme
PropertyValue
Headwordphoneme
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈfəʊ.niːm/
Letters7
Frequency rank#56,976
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “phoneme” 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). phoneme 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

phoneme is uncommon English at frequency #56,976 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈfəʊ.niːm/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An indivisible unit of sound in a given language. A phoneme is an abstraction of the physical speech sounds (phones) and may encompass several different phones.".

No misspelling variants are generated for phoneme in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek φώνημα (phṓnēma, “sound”), from φωνέω (phōnéō, “to sound”), from φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound”). By surface analysis, phone (“speech sound”) + -eme (“unit”). The correct English form is phoneme, spelled P-H-O-N-E-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An indivisible unit of sound in a given language. A phoneme is an abstraction of the physical speech sounds (phones) and may encompass several different phones.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek φώνημα (phṓnēma, “sound”), from φωνέω (phōnéō, “to sound”), from φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound”). By surface analysis, phone (“speech sound”) + -eme (“unit”).

This word in other languages

fonema(Español)phonème(Français)Phonem(Deutsch)

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 "phoneme"?
"phoneme" is spelled P-H-O-N-E-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfəʊ.niːm/.
What does "phoneme" mean?
As a noun, "phoneme" means: An indivisible unit of sound in a given language. A phoneme is an abstraction of the physical speech sounds (phones) and may encompass several different phones.
How do you pronounce "phoneme"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "phoneme" is /ˈfəʊ.niːm/. 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 "phoneme"?
From Ancient Greek φώνημα (phṓnēma, “sound”), from φωνέω (phōnéō, “to sound”), from φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound”). By surface analysis, phone (“speech sound”) + -eme (“unit”). 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 “phoneme”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is P-H-O-N-E-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈfəʊ.niːm/ (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

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