salty

/ˈsɒl.ti/

//ˈsɒl.ti// adj

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

"salty" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“salty” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,605. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,605
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Tasting of salt.

Corpus desk

Index EN-salty · salty · English

salty · rank #10,605 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,605
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH rust

Nearest frequency peer: rust (-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 “salty”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “salty” 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).

salty vs say
60% similar
salty vs sat
60% similar
salty vs sly
60% similar

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

Key facts for salty
PropertyValue
Headwordsalty
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈsɒl.ti/
Letters5
Frequency rank#10,605
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “salty”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).saltylands 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 “rust” (#10,604), “Scots” (#10,606), “scrutiny” (#10,607). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “salty” is #10,605. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around salty (IPA /ˈsɒl.ti/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #10,605 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for salty, with forms such as "aslty", "sallty", and "saltty". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "say", "sat", "sly", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *séh₂ls From Middle English salti, equivalent to salt + -y. Compare Saterland Frisian soaltig (“salty”), West Frisian sâltich (“salty”), Dutch zoutig (“salty”), German Low German soltig (“salty”), German salzig (“salty”). (coarse; irritated, annoy… The correct English form is salty, spelled S-A-L-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Tasting of salt.
  2. 2
    Containing salt.
  3. 3
    Coarse; provocative; earthy.
  4. 4
    Experienced, especially used to indicate a veteran of the naval services; salty dog (from salt of the sea).
  5. 5
    Irritated, annoyed, angry, bitter.
  6. 6
    Pertaining to the Sardinian language and those dialects of Catalan, spoken in the Balearic Islands and along the coast of Catalonia, that use definitive articles descended from the Latin ipse (“self”) instead of the Latin ille (“that”).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. A few types of molecules get sensed by receptors on the tongue. Protons coming off of acids ping receptors for "sour." Sugars get received as "sweet." Bitter, salty, and the proteinaceous flavor umami all set off their own neural cascades.
  2. At Zipaquirá, the salty ore is taken from the mine in chunks, then thrown into large tanks of water, where the salt is dissolved out. The resulting brine is drawn off into pipelines, containers, or tank trucks and sold […]

Etymology

PIE word *séh₂ls From Middle English salti, equivalent to salt + -y. Compare Saterland Frisian soaltig (“salty”), West Frisian sâltich (“salty”), Dutch zoutig (“salty”), German Low German soltig (“salty”), German salzig (“salty”). (coarse; irritated, annoyed): Referencing the sharp, 'spicy' flavor of salt. (indignant): Perhaps implying the person is a crybaby, shedding salty tears, or derived from the preceding.

Synonyms

halinesalinesaltsalty

Antonyms

nonsalinenonsaltnonsaltyunsalty

This word in other languages

salado(Español)salé(Français)salzig(Deutsch)salgado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aslty
  • sallty
  • saltty
  • saltyy
  • salyt
  • satly
  • slaty
  • ssalty

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of salty - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

aslty2sallty1saltty1saltyy1salyt2satly2slaty2ssalty1
Edit distance from "salty"

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 "salty"?
"salty" is spelled S-A-L-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɒl.ti/.
What does "salty" mean?
As an adjective, "salty" means: Tasting of salt.
What words are commonly confused with "salty"?
"salty" is commonly confused with "say", "sat", "sly". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "salty"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "salty" is /ˈsɒl.ti/. 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 "salty"?
PIE word *séh₂ls From Middle English salti, equivalent to salt + -y. Compare Saterland Frisian soaltig (“salty”), West Frisian sâltich (“salty”), Dutch zoutig (“salty”), German Low German soltig (“salty”), German salzig (“salty”). (coarse; irrita... 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 "salty", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Scots#10,606serum#10,609skate#10,611Sofia#10,612

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

stray8 variantspalette8 variantstorch8 variantsoffline8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list