sci-fi
/saɪ.faɪ/
"sci-fi" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sci-fi” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A genre of movies featuring mostly fictional scientific scenes.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sci-fi |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /saɪ.faɪ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sci-fi” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
sci-fi is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /saɪ.faɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for sci-fi in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: A clipping of science fiction. The correct English form is sci-fi, spelled S-C-I---F-I.
Definition
- 1A genre of movies featuring mostly fictional scientific scenes.
- 2Syllabic abbreviation of science fiction.
Etymology
A clipping of science fiction.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “sci-fi”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-C-I---F-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /saɪ.faɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.