psyche

/ˈsaɪ.ki/

//ˈsaɪ.ki// noun

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

"psyche" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“psyche” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,780. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,780
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The human soul, mind, or spirit.

Corpus desk

Index EN-psyche · psyche · English

psyche · rank #16,780 · 10 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,780
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH proton

Nearest frequency peer: proton (-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 “psyche”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “psyche” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

psyche vs psycho
83% similar
psyche vs psychic
71% similar
psyche vs psyched
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for psyche
PropertyValue
Headwordpsyche
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsaɪ.ki/
Letters6
Frequency rank#16,780
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “psyche”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “proton” (#16,779), “redesign” (#16,782), “Prescott” (#16,776). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “psyche” is #16,780. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around psyche (IPA /ˈsaɪ.ki/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,780 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for psyche, with forms such as "ppsyche", "pscyhe", and "pssyche". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "psycho", "psychic", "psyched", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin psychē, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul”). The correct English form is psyche, spelled P-S-Y-C-H-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The human soul, mind, or spirit.
  2. 2
    The human mind as the central force in thought, emotion, and behavior of an individual.
  3. 3
    A small white butterfly, Leptosia nina, family Pieridae, of Asia and Australasia.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I've been driving in L.A. / And the world, it feels too big / Like a floating ball that's bound to break / Snap my psyche like a twig
  2. We feel we have been victimised over the centuries. It’s part of our psyche – underneath it all we side with the underdog.”

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin psychē, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul”).

This word in other languages

psique(Español)psyché(Français)Psyche(Deutsch)psique(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ppsyche
  • pscyhe
  • pssyche
  • psycche
  • psyceh
  • psychhe
  • psyhce
  • psyyche
  • pysche
  • spyche

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of psyche - 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.

ppsyche1pscyhe2pssyche1psycche1psyceh2psychhe1psyhce2psyyche1
Edit distance from "psyche"

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 "psyche"?
"psyche" is spelled P-S-Y-C-H-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsaɪ.ki/.
What does "psyche" mean?
As a noun, "psyche" means: The human soul, mind, or spirit.
What words are commonly confused with "psyche"?
"psyche" is commonly confused with "psycho", "psychic", "psyched". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "psyche"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "psyche" is /ˈsaɪ.ki/. 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 "psyche"?
Learned borrowing from Latin psychē, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul”). 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 "psyche", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

proton#16,779reopen#16,786piping#16,773paving#16,767

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

seeming10 variantsparanoia10 variantsthere'll10 variantstherein10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list