sardine

/sɑːˈdiːn/

//sɑːˈdiːn// noun

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

"sardine" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sardine” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #43,899. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#43,899
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any one of several species of small herring which are commonly preserved in olive oil or in tins for food, especially the pilchard, or European sardine (Sardina pilchardus, syn. Clupea pilchardus)....

Corpus desk

Index EN-sardine · sardine · English

sardine · rank #43,899 · 10 variants · 9 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #43,899
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 9 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sanitarium

Nearest frequency peer: sanitarium (-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 “sardine”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sardine” 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).

sardine vs sarin
71% similar
sardine vs shrine
71% similar
sardine vs serine
71% similar

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

Key facts for sardine
PropertyValue
Headwordsardine
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/sɑːˈdiːn/
Letters7
Frequency rank#43,899
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sardine”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).sardinelands 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 “sanitarium” (#43,898), “sauerkraut” (#43,900), “Sandford” (#43,896). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sardine” is #43,899. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around sardine (IPA /sɑːˈdiːn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #43,899 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for sardine, with forms such as "asrdine", "sadrine", and "sarddine". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "sarin", "shrine", "serine", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French sardine (cognate with Spanish sardina, Italian sardina), Latin sardīna; from Ancient Greek σαρδίνη (sardínē). The correct English form is sardine, spelled S-A-R-D-I-N-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any one of several species of small herring which are commonly preserved in olive oil or in tins for food, especially the pilchard, or European sardine (Sardina pilchardus, syn. Clupea pilchardus). The American sardines of the Atlantic coast are mostly the young of the Atlantic herring and of the menhaden.
  2. 2
    Someone packed or crammed into a small space.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. They feasted on premium sardines packed in olive oil, as did their hunting dogs, who insisted on joining the meal.
  2. They watched bemused as countless sardines disgorged from a railway car that was never designed to hold so many passengers.

Etymology

Borrowed from French sardine (cognate with Spanish sardina, Italian sardina), Latin sardīna; from Ancient Greek σαρδίνη (sardínē).

This word in other languages

sardina(Español)sardine(Français)Sardine(Deutsch)sardinha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • asrdine
  • sadrine
  • sarddine
  • sardien
  • sardinne
  • sardnie
  • saridne
  • sarrdine
  • sradine
  • ssardine

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

asrdine2sadrine2sarddine1sardien2sardinne1sardnie2saridne2sarrdine1
Edit distance from "sardine"

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 "sardine"?
"sardine" is spelled S-A-R-D-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /sɑːˈdiːn/.
What does "sardine" mean?
As a noun, "sardine" means: Any one of several species of small herring which are commonly preserved in olive oil or in tins for food, especially the pilchard, or European sardine (Sardina pilchardus, syn. Clupea pilchardus)....
What words are commonly confused with "sardine"?
"sardine" is commonly confused with "sarin", "shrine", "serine". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sardine"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sardine" is /sɑːˈdiːn/. 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 "sardine"?
Borrowed from French sardine (cognate with Spanish sardina, Italian sardina), Latin sardīna; from Ancient Greek σαρδίνη (sardínē). 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 "sardine", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

riddler#43,886revving#43,882shriver#43,917remarry#43,878

Similar misspelling depth

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

slinky10 variantsredline10 variantssplint10 variantstradeoff10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list