problem
/ˈpɹɒbləm/
"problem" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“problem” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #391. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #391
- frequency rank, English
- 4,417
- “P” headwords
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A difficulty that has to be resolved or dealt with.
Corpus desk
Index EN-problem · problem · English
problem · rank #391 · 11 variants · 2 confusables
- FREQ-CORE #391
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
- VAR-MID 11 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,417
- PHOTO-FINISH pay
Nearest frequency peer: pay (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “problem”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- hours
hours
99,613 corpus weight
- office
office
99,612 corpus weight
- pay
pay
99,611 corpus weight
- problem
problem
99,610 corpus weight
- south
south
99,609 corpus weight
- true
true
99,608 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “problem” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
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 | problem |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɹɒbləm/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #391 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “problem” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 11 spelling variants around problem (IPA /ˈpɹɒbləm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #391 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for problem, with forms such as "porblem", "pproblem", and "prbolem". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "problems", "probe", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English probleme, from Middle French probleme, from Latin problēma, from Ancient Greek πρόβλημα (próblēma, “anything thrown forward, hindrance, obstacle, anything projecting, a headland, promontory”), from προβάλλω (probállō, “to throw or lay so… The correct English form is problem, spelled P-R-O-B-L-E-M.
Definition
- 1A difficulty that has to be resolved or dealt with.
- 2A difficulty that has to be resolved or dealt with.
- 3A question to be answered, schoolwork exercise.
- 4A puzzling circumstance.
- 5Objection.
- 6Difficulty in accepting or understanding or refusal to accept or understand.
- 7A set of moves required to complete a climb.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how problem appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
She's leaving because she faced numerous problems to do with racism.
“[…] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”
Etymology
From Middle English probleme, from Middle French probleme, from Latin problēma, from Ancient Greek πρόβλημα (próblēma, “anything thrown forward, hindrance, obstacle, anything projecting, a headland, promontory”), from προβάλλω (probállō, “to throw or lay something in front of someone, to put forward”), from προ- (pro-, “in front of”) + βάλλω (bállō, “to throw, to cast, to hurl”). Doublet of problema.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- porblem
- pproblem
- prbolem
- probblem
- probelm
- problemm
- probllem
- problme
- prolbem
- prroblem
- rpoblem
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of problem - 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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "problem"?
What does "problem" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "problem"?
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "problem", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "problem". Here's where to go from here.
- "problem" maps to 2 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "problems". View pair
- 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #391 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.