ski

/skiː/

//skiː// noun

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

"ski" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ski” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #5,840) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#5,840
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One of a pair of long flat runners designed for gliding over snow or water.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ski · ski · English

ski · rank #5,840 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,840
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sexually

Nearest frequency peer: sexually (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “ski”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “ski” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

ski vs so
33% similar
ski vs SS
0% similar
ski vs SP
0% similar

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

Key facts for ski
PropertyValue
Headwordski
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/skiː/
Letters3
Frequency rank#5,840
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ski” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).skilands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “sexually” (#5,839), “skilled” (#5,841), “separation” (#5,838). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for ski is neighbouring look-alikes ("so", "SS", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /skiː/. Frequency #5,840 among 6,566 “S” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for ski, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "so", "SS", "SP", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Norwegian ski, from Old Norse skíð (“stick of wood, snowshoe”), from Proto-Germanic *skīdą (“stick”), from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to cut, split”) (see also shed). Cognate with Old English sċīd (“stick of wood”) (modern shide), Old High German ski… The correct English form is ski, spelled S-K-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    One of a pair of long flat runners designed for gliding over snow or water.
  2. 2
    One of a pair of long flat runners under some flying machines, used for landing.
  3. 3
    A trip made by skiing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Disaster at the newly opened ski resort where hard-driving tycoon Hudson is determined to double his not insubstantial investment while his ex-wife Mia is making whoopee with one of the locals championing ecology.
  2. We skied back the way we had come for about thirty minutes when I saw her. Mary was hanging upside down by the tips of her skies from a tree well.

Etymology

From Norwegian ski, from Old Norse skíð (“stick of wood, snowshoe”), from Proto-Germanic *skīdą (“stick”), from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to cut, split”) (see also shed). Cognate with Old English sċīd (“stick of wood”) (modern shide), Old High German skit (Modern German Scheit (“log”)).

This word in other languages

esquí(Español)ski(Français)Ski(Deutsch)esqui(Português)

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 "ski"?
"ski" is spelled S-K-I. The IPA pronunciation is /skiː/.
What does "ski" mean?
As a noun, "ski" means: One of a pair of long flat runners designed for gliding over snow or water.
What words are commonly confused with "ski"?
"ski" is commonly confused with "so", "SS", "SP". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ski"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ski" is /skiː/. 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 "ski"?
From Norwegian ski, from Old Norse skíð (“stick of wood, snowshoe”), from Proto-Germanic *skīdą (“stick”), from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to cut, split”) (see also shed). Cognate with Old English sċīd (“stick of wood”) (modern shide), Old High ... 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 "ski", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

owe#5,820MUD#5,815lip#5,808ham#5,885

What to do next

You've looked up "ski". Here's where to go from here.

  • "ski" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "so". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #5,840 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list