porcelain

/ˈpɔːsəlɪn/

//ˈpɔːsəlɪn// noun

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

"porcelain" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“porcelain” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,785. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,785
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A hard white translucent ceramic, originally made by firing kaolin, quartz, and feldspar at high temperatures but now also inclusive of similar artificial materials; also often (figurative) such a ...

Corpus desk

Index EN-porcelain · porcelain · English

porcelain · rank #13,785 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,785
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH playboy

Nearest frequency peer: playboy (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “porcelain”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “porcelain” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for porcelain
PropertyValue
Headwordporcelain
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɔːsəlɪn/
Letters9
Frequency rank#13,785
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “porcelain”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).porcelainlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “playboy” (#13,784), “processors” (#13,786), “planetary” (#13,783). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “porcelain” is #13,785. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around porcelain (IPA /ˈpɔːsəlɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,785 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for porcelain, with forms such as "oprcelain", "pocrelain", and "porccelain". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French porcelaine (“cowrie, wampum; china, chinaware”), from Old Italian porcellana (“cowrie; china, chinaware”), from porcella (“female piglet”) + -ana. The material was so called because of its resemblance to the shell of the cowrie. Why the c… The correct English form is porcelain, spelled P-O-R-C-E-L-A-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A hard white translucent ceramic, originally made by firing kaolin, quartz, and feldspar at high temperatures but now also inclusive of similar artificial materials; also often (figurative) such a material as a symbol of the fragility, elegance, etc. traditionally associated with porcelain goods.
  2. 2
    Synonym of china: porcelain tableware.
  3. 3
    Synonym of kaolin: the kind of clay traditionally used in China to manufacture porcelain.
  4. 4
    An object made of porcelain, (particularly) art objects or items of tableware.
  5. 5
    Synonym of cowrie.
  6. 6
    Synonym of wampum: strings of shells, beads, etc. used as ornamentation or currency; the composite shells, beads, etc.
  7. 7
    A kind of pigeon with deep brown and off-white feathers.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how porcelain appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Tableware and toilets are both made of porcelain.
  2. Any power rail needs to be well insulated from earth, to minimise current leakage, and so the two power rails on the Underground sit on curiously genteel and antique-looking porcelain pots.

Etymology

From Middle French porcelaine (“cowrie, wampum; china, chinaware”), from Old Italian porcellana (“cowrie; china, chinaware”), from porcella (“female piglet”) + -ana. The material was so called because of its resemblance to the shell of the cowrie. Why the cowrie was named with a word meaning “piglet” is unclear.

Synonyms

chinachinaware

This word in other languages

porcelana(Español)porcelaine(Français)Porzellan(Deutsch)porcelana(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • oprcelain
  • pocrelain
  • porccelain
  • porcealin
  • porcelainn
  • porcelani
  • porcelian
  • porcellain
  • porcleain
  • poreclain
  • porrcelain
  • pporcelain
  • procelain

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of porcelain - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

oprcelain2pocrelain2porccelain1porcealin2porcelainn1porcelani2porcelian2porcellain1
Edit distance from "porcelain"

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 "porcelain"?
"porcelain" is spelled P-O-R-C-E-L-A-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɔːsəlɪn/.
What does "porcelain" mean?
As a noun, "porcelain" means: A hard white translucent ceramic, originally made by firing kaolin, quartz, and feldspar at high temperatures but now also inclusive of similar artificial materials; also often (figurative) such a ...
What are common misspellings of "porcelain"?
Common misspellings include "oprcelain", "pocrelain", "porccelain", "porcealin", "porcelainn". The correct spelling is "porcelain".
How do you pronounce "porcelain"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "porcelain" is /ˈpɔːsəlɪn/. 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 "porcelain"?
From Middle French porcelaine (“cowrie, wampum; china, chinaware”), from Old Italian porcellana (“cowrie; china, chinaware”), from porcella (“female piglet”) + -ana. The material was so called because of its resemblance to the shell of the cowrie.... 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "porcelain", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

planetary#13,783outskirts#13,775outsiders#13,774oppressed#13,771

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

recycled13 variantslucrative13 variantshardship13 variantsblasting13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list