postpartum
/ˌpəʊstˈpɑː(ɹ)təm/
"postpartum" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“postpartum” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #29,793 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #29,793
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 16
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - After giving birth (often defined as within 30 days after childbirth).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | postpartum |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌpəʊstˈpɑː(ɹ)təm/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #29,793 |
| Misspellings tracked | 16 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “postpartum” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for postpartum is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌpəʊstˈpɑː(ɹ)təm/. Corpus data places it at rank #29,793 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "After giving birth (often defined as within 30 days after childbirth).".
Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for postpartum, with forms such as "opstpartum", "posptartum", and "posstpartum". 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. 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: 1844, from Latin post (“after”) + partum (“giving birth”), form of partus, from pariō (“I give birth”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to bring forth”). The correct English form is postpartum, spelled P-O-S-T-P-A-R-T-U-M.
Definition
- 1After giving birth (often defined as within 30 days after childbirth).
Etymology
1844, from Latin post (“after”) + partum (“giving birth”), form of partus, from pariō (“I give birth”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to bring forth”).
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: opstpartum,posptartum,posstpartum,postaprtum,postparrtum,postpartmu,postparttum,postpartumm,postparutm,postpatrum,postppartum,postpratum,posttpartum,potspartum,ppostpartum,psotpartum
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of postpartum - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "postpartum"?
What does "postpartum" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “postpartum”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-O-S-T-P-A-R-T-U-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌpəʊstˈpɑː(ɹ)təm/ (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.