scholar
/ˈskɒlə/
"scholar" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“scholar” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,606 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #7,606
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A student; one who studies at school or college, typically having a scholarship.
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 | scholar |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈskɒlə/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #7,606 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “scholar” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for scholar is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈskɒlə/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,606 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for scholar, with forms such as "csholar", "sccholar", and "schholar". 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 5 confusable-pair relationships, "solar", "Scholes", "schooler", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English scolar, scolare, scoler, scolere (also scholer), from Old English scōlere (“scholar, learner”), from Late Latin scholāris, from schola (“school”), from Ancient Greek σχολή (skholḗ, “spare time, leisure", later, "conversations and the kno… The correct English form is scholar, spelled S-C-H-O-L-A-R.
Definition
- 1A student; one who studies at school or college, typically having a scholarship.
- 2A specialist in a particular branch of knowledge.
- 3A learned person; a bookman.
- 4Someone who received a prestigious scholarship.
Etymology
From Middle English scolar, scolare, scoler, scolere (also scholer), from Old English scōlere (“scholar, learner”), from Late Latin scholāris, from schola (“school”), from Ancient Greek σχολή (skholḗ, “spare time, leisure", later, "conversations and the knowledge gained through them during free time; the places where these conversations took place”), equivalent to school + -ar. Compare Saterland Frisian Sköiler, Middle Low German schö̂lære, schö̂lere, schö̂ler (> modern German Low German Schöler), Dutch scholier, German Schüler. Doublet of escolar.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: csholar,sccholar,schholar,schloar,schoalr,scholarr,schollar,scholra,scohlar,shcolar,sscholar
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of scholar - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 "scholar"?
What does "scholar" mean?
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Using “scholar”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-C-H-O-L-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈskɒlə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “solar” - see the side-by-side comparison. scholar vs solar
- 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.