satin

/ˈsæt.ɪn/

//ˈsæt.ɪn// noun

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

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

The verdict

“satin” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,476. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,476
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A cloth woven from silk, nylon or polyester with a glossy surface and a dull back. (The same weaving technique applied to cotton produces cloth termed sateen).

Corpus desk

Index EN-satin · satin · English

satin · rank #17,476 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,476
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Samson

Nearest frequency peer: Samson (-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 “satin”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “satin” 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).

satin vs sin
60% similar
satin vs STI
0% similar
satin vs skin
60% similar

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

Key facts for satin
PropertyValue
Headwordsatin
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsæt.ɪn/
Letters5
Frequency rank#17,476
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “satin”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).satinlands 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 “Samson” (#17,475), “scatter” (#17,477), “Samoa” (#17,474). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “satin” is #17,476. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around satin (IPA /ˈsæt.ɪn/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,476 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for satin, with forms such as "astin", "satinn", and "satni". 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, "sin", "STI", "skin", 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 French satin, which is derived from "Zaitun", the Arabic name for the Chinese city of Quanzhou, itself derived from Arabic زَيْتُون (zaytūn, “Zayton; olive”), from phono-semantic matching from Chinese 刺桐 (MC tshjeH duwng, “coral tree”) in 刺桐城 (MC tshje… The correct English form is satin, spelled S-A-T-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A cloth woven from silk, nylon or polyester with a glossy surface and a dull back. (The same weaving technique applied to cotton produces cloth termed sateen).
  2. 2
    Gin (the drink).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Ibn Batuta informs us that a rich silk texture made here was called Zaitûniya; and there can be little doubt that this is the real origin of our word Satin,—Zettani in mediæval Italian, Aceytuni in Spanish.
  2. 'This poor gal was robbed, barely left a stitch, that and the drink... mind, I likes a drop of satin – wot you'd call gin – myself. I'll say nothing against it. She ended thrown out of an upstairs winder.'

Etymology

From French satin, which is derived from "Zaitun", the Arabic name for the Chinese city of Quanzhou, itself derived from Arabic زَيْتُون (zaytūn, “Zayton; olive”), from phono-semantic matching from Chinese 刺桐 (MC tshjeH duwng, “coral tree”) in 刺桐城 (MC tshjeH duwng dzyeng, “coral tree town”), an old name for Quanzhou.

This word in other languages

raso(Español)satin(Français)Satin(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • astin
  • satinn
  • satni
  • sattin
  • ssatin

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

astin2satinn1satni2sattin1ssatin1
Edit distance from "satin"

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 "satin"?
"satin" is spelled S-A-T-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsæt.ɪn/.
What does "satin" mean?
As a noun, "satin" means: A cloth woven from silk, nylon or polyester with a glossy surface and a dull back. (The same weaving technique applied to cotton produces cloth termed sateen).
What words are commonly confused with "satin"?
"satin" is commonly confused with "sin", "STI", "skin". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "satin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "satin" is /ˈsæt.ɪn/. 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 "satin"?
From French satin, which is derived from "Zaitun", the Arabic name for the Chinese city of Quanzhou, itself derived from Arabic زَيْتُون (zaytūn, “Zayton; olive”), from phono-semantic matching from Chinese 刺桐 (MC tshjeH duwng, “coral tree”) in 刺桐城... 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 "satin", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Samoa#17,474robes#17,463slows#17,491quits#17,451

Similar misspelling depth

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

digs5 variantsditto5 variantsfife5 variantsgeez5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list