pidgin
/ˈpɪ.d͡ʒɪn/
"pidgin" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pidgin” is an uncommon English word, ranked #50,722 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #50,722
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no common language as a lingua franca to communicate with each other, lacking formalized grammar and having a small, utili...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pidgin |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɪ.d͡ʒɪn/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #50,722 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pidgin” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for pidgin is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɪ.d͡ʒɪn/. Corpus data places it at rank #50,722 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.
No misspelling variants are generated for pidgin in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From pidgin English, from a Chinese Pidgin English pronunciation of English business during trade in the Far East. All attestations of pidgin from the first half of the nineteenth century given in the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary mean “bus… The correct English form is pidgin, spelled P-I-D-G-I-N.
Definition
- 1An amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no common language as a lingua franca to communicate with each other, lacking formalized grammar and having a small, utilitarian vocabulary and no native speakers.
- 2A person's business, occupation, work, or trade (also spelt as pigeon).
Etymology
From pidgin English, from a Chinese Pidgin English pronunciation of English business during trade in the Far East. All attestations of pidgin from the first half of the nineteenth century given in the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary mean “business; an action, occupation, or affair” (the earliest being from 1807). Other suggested derivations include: * Hebrew פִּדְיוֹן (pidyón, “exchange; trade; redemption”) * Chinese pronunciation of Portuguese ocupação (“occupation; business”) * South Seas pronunciation of beach * Portuguese baixo (“low”)
This word in other languages
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
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Using “pidgin”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-I-D-G-I-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɪ.d͡ʒɪn/ (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
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.