sixth

/sɪksθ/

//sɪksθ// adj

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

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

The verdict

“sixth” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,785. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,785
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The ordinal form of the number six.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sixth · sixth · English

sixth · rank #3,785 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,785
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH shaped

Nearest frequency peer: shaped (-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 “sixth”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sixth” 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).

sixth vs sth
60% similar
sixth vs south
60% similar
sixth vs smith
60% similar

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

Key facts for sixth
PropertyValue
Headwordsixth
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/sɪksθ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#3,785
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sixth”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).sixthlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “shaped” (#3,784), “spin” (#3,786), “rocks” (#3,783). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sixth” is #3,785. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around sixth (IPA /sɪksθ/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #3,785 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The ordinal form of the number six.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for sixth, with forms such as "isxth", "sitxh", and "sixht". 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, "sth", "south", "smith", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier sixt, from Middle English sixte, from Old English siexta, from Proto-Germanic *sehstô. By surface analysis, six + -th (ordinal suffix). The correct English form is sixth, spelled S-I-X-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    The ordinal form of the number six.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. And * God ſaw euery thing that hee had made : and behold, it was very good. And the euening and the moꝛning were the ſixth day.
  2. Dr. Ridpath, in his usual happy manner, thanked the Executive Committee and the various members of the Association who had so earnestly cooperated with him in the work of the Sixth Annual Meeting now drawing to a close.

Etymology

From earlier sixt, from Middle English sixte, from Old English siexta, from Proto-Germanic *sehstô. By surface analysis, six + -th (ordinal suffix).

This word in other languages

sexto(Español)sixième(Français)sechste(Deutsch)sexto(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • isxth
  • sitxh
  • sixht
  • sixthh
  • sixtth
  • sixxth
  • ssixth
  • sxith

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

isxth2sitxh2sixht2sixthh1sixtth1sixxth1ssixth1sxith2
Edit distance from "sixth"

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 "sixth"?
"sixth" is spelled S-I-X-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /sɪksθ/.
What does "sixth" mean?
As an adjective, "sixth" means: The ordinal form of the number six.
What words are commonly confused with "sixth"?
"sixth" is commonly confused with "sth", "south", "smith". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sixth"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sixth" is /sɪksθ/. 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 "sixth"?
From earlier sixt, from Middle English sixte, from Old English siexta, from Proto-Germanic *sehstô. By surface analysis, six + -th (ordinal suffix). 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 "sixth", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

rocks#3,783sucks#3,789rapid#3,780races#3,779

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

alleged8 variantsbands8 variantshence8 variantsgifts8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list