relation

/ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/

//ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n// noun

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

"relation" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“relation” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,262. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,262
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The manner in which two things may be associated.

Corpus desk

Index EN-relation · relation · English

relation · rank #4,262 · 12 variants · 13 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,262
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH psychology

Nearest frequency peer: psychology (-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 “relation”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “relation” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

relation vs religion
75% similar
relation vs relative
75% similar
relation vs rotation
75% similar

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

Key facts for relation
PropertyValue
Headwordrelation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/
Letters8
Frequency rank#4,262
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “relation” sits in English frequency

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “psychology” (#4,261), “restrictions” (#4,263), “presentation” (#4,260). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around relation (IPA /ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,262 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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

  1. 1
    The manner in which two things may be associated.
  2. 2
    A member of one's extended family; a relative.
  3. 3
    A relationship; the manner in which and tone with which people or states, etc. interact.
  4. 4
    The act of relating a story.
  5. 5
    A set of ordered tuples.
  6. 6
    A set of ordered tuples.
  7. 7
    A set of tuples, implemented as a table in a relational database.
  8. 8
    A statement of equality of two products of generators, used in the presentation of a group.
  9. 9
    A subobject of a product of objects.
  10. 10
    The act of intercourse.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The relation between diet and health is complex.
  2. Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations. It is easily earned repetition to state that Josephine St. Auban's was a presence not to be concealed.

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

connectionlinkrelationshipmember of one's familyrecountingtellcorrespondenceassociationbearingconcernpertinencereferencerelationrelevance

Antonyms

irrelation

This word in other languages

relación(Español)relation(Français)Beziehung(Deutsch)relação(Português)

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.

erlation2realtion2relaiton2relasion1relatino2relationn1relatoin2relattion1
Edit distance from "relation"

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 "relation"?
"relation" is spelled R-E-L-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/.
What does "relation" mean?
As a noun, "relation" means: The manner in which two things may be associated.
What words are commonly confused with "relation"?
"relation" is commonly confused with "religion", "relative", "rotation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "relation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "relation" is /ɹɪˈleɪʃ(ə)n/. 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 "relation"?
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 re... 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 "relation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

midnight#4,253literary#4,250terminal#4,275Lawrence#4,248

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

Jonathan12 variantsunlikely12 variantsHamilton12 variantscalendar12 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "relation". Here's where to go from here.

  • "relation" maps to 13 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "religion". View pair
  • 12 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #4,262 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "R" letter cohort. R–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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list