phonology
/fəˈnɒləd͡ʒi/
"phonology" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“phonology” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #43,844 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #43,844
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The study of the way sounds function in languages, including accent, intonation, phonemes, stress, and syllable structure, and which sounds are distinctive units within a language; (countable) the ...
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | phonology |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /fəˈnɒləd͡ʒi/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #43,844 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “phonology” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for phonology is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /fəˈnɒləd͡ʒi/. Corpus data places it at rank #43,844 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for phonology, with forms such as "hponology", "phhonology", and "phnoology". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "philology", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From phono- (prefix denoting sound) + -logy (suffix denoting a branch of learning, or a study of a particular subject). The correct English form is phonology, spelled P-H-O-N-O-L-O-G-Y.
Definition
- 1The study of the way sounds function in languages, including accent, intonation, phonemes, stress, and syllable structure, and which sounds are distinctive units within a language; (countable) the way sounds function within a given language; a phonological system.
- 2The study of the way components of signs function in a sign language, and which components are distinctive units within the language; (countable) the way components of signs function within a given sign language.
Etymology
From phono- (prefix denoting sound) + -logy (suffix denoting a branch of learning, or a study of a particular subject).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hponology,phhonology,phnoology,phonloogy,phonnology,phonolgoy,phonollogy,phonologgy,phonologyy,phonoloyg,phonoolgy,phoonlogy,pohnology,pphonology
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of phonology - 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.
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 "phonology"?
What does "phonology" mean?
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Using “phonology”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-H-O-N-O-L-O-G-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /fəˈnɒləd͡ʒi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “philology” - see the side-by-side comparison. phonology vs philology
- 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.