rightful
/ˈɹaɪtfəl/
"rightful" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“rightful” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,706 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #17,706
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - By right; by law.
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 | rightful |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈɹaɪtfəl/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #17,706 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “rightful” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for rightful is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɹaɪtfəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,706 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "By right; by law.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for rightful, with forms such as "irghtful", "rgihtful", and "rigghtful". 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. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "rightfully", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English rightful, ryghtfull, riȝtful, from Old English *rihtfull (suggested by derivative unrihtfull (“unrightful”)), equivalent to right + -ful. The correct English form is rightful, spelled R-I-G-H-T-F-U-L.
Definition
- 1By right; by law.
Etymology
From Middle English rightful, ryghtfull, riȝtful, from Old English *rihtfull (suggested by derivative unrihtfull (“unrightful”)), equivalent to right + -ful.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: irghtful,rgihtful,rigghtful,righftul,righhtful,rightfful,rightflu,rightfull,righttful,rightufl,rigthful,rihgtful,rrightful
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rightful - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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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Using “rightful”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is R-I-G-H-T-F-U-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɹaɪtfəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “rightfully” - see the side-by-side comparison. rightful vs rightfully
- 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.