sixteenth
/ˌsɪksˈtiːnθ/
"sixteenth" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sixteenth” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,720 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #17,720
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The ordinal form of the number sixteen.
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 | sixteenth |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌsɪksˈtiːnθ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #17,720 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sixteenth” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for sixteenth is 9 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌsɪksˈtiːnθ/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,720 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "The ordinal form of the number sixteen.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for sixteenth, with forms such as "isxteenth", "sitxeenth", and "sixetenth". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "sixteen", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English sixtenthe, sixtethe, from Old English sixtēoþa, equivalent to sixteen + -th. The correct English form is sixteenth, spelled S-I-X-T-E-E-N-T-H.
Definition
- 1The ordinal form of the number sixteen.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English sixtenthe, sixtethe, from Old English sixtēoþa, equivalent to sixteen + -th.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: isxteenth,sitxeenth,sixetenth,sixteenht,sixteennth,sixteenthh,sixteentth,sixteetnh,sixteneth,sixtenth,sixtteenth,sixxteenth,ssixteenth,sxiteenth
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sixteenth - 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
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Using “sixteenth”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-I-X-T-E-E-N-T-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌsɪksˈtiːnθ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “sixteen” - see the side-by-side comparison. sixteenth vs sixteen
- 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.