relation
/ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/
"relation" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“relation” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,262 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #4,262
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 13
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The manner in which two things may be associated.
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 | relation |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #4,262 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 13 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “relation” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for relation is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,262 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for relation, with forms such as "erlation", "realtion", and "relaiton". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 13 confusable-pair relationships, "religion", "relative", "rotation", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English relacion, relacioun, from Anglo-Norman relacioun and Old French relacion (whence French relation), from Latin relātiō, noun of process form from perfect passive participle relātus (“related”), from verb referō (“to refer, to relate”), fr… The correct English form is relation, spelled R-E-L-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The manner in which two things may be associated.
- 2A member of one's extended family; a relative.
- 3A relationship; the manner in which and tone with which people or states, etc. interact.
- 4The act of relating a story.
- 5A set of ordered tuples.
- 6A set of ordered tuples.
- 7A set of tuples, implemented as a table in a relational database.
- 8A statement of equality of two products of generators, used in the presentation of a group.
- 9A subobject of a product of objects.
- 10The act of intercourse.
Etymology
From Middle English relacion, relacioun, from Anglo-Norman relacioun and Old French relacion (whence French relation), from Latin relātiō, noun of process form from perfect passive participle relātus (“related”), from verb referō (“to refer, to relate”), from prefix re- (“again”) + ferō (“to bear, to carry”). By surface analysis, relate + -ion. Doublet of relazione.
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: erlation,realtion,relaiton,relasion,relatino,relationn,relatoin,relattion,rellation,reltaion,rleation,rrelation
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of relation - 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
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What does "relation" mean?
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Using “relation”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-E-L-A-T-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “religion” - see the side-by-side comparison. relation vs religion
- 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.