postcard
/ˈpoʊstˌkɑɹd/
"postcard" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“postcard” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,305 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #16,305
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically used for sending messages by mail without the need for an envelope.
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 | postcard |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpoʊstˌkɑɹd/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #16,305 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “postcard” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for postcard is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpoʊstˌkɑɹd/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,305 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically used for sending messages by mail without the need for an envelope.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for postcard, with forms such as "opstcard", "posctard", and "posstcard". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "postwar", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From post + card. The correct English form is postcard, spelled P-O-S-T-C-A-R-D.
Definition
- 1A rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically used for sending messages by mail without the need for an envelope.
Etymology
From post + card.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: opstcard,posctard,posstcard,postacrd,postcadr,postcardd,postcarrd,postccard,postcrad,posttcard,potscard,ppostcard,psotcard
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of postcard - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "postcard"?
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Using “postcard”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-O-S-T-C-A-R-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpoʊstˌkɑɹd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “postwar” - see the side-by-side comparison. postcard vs postwar
- 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.