sleepy

/ˈsliːpi/

//ˈsliːpi// adj

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

"sleepy" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sleepy” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,608. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,608
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
19
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Tired; feeling the need for sleep.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sleepy · sleepy · English

sleepy · rank #11,608 · 9 variants · 19 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,608
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 19 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH skype

Nearest frequency peer: skype (-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 “sleepy”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sleepy” 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).

sleepy vs slept
67% similar
sleepy vs steep
67% similar
sleepy vs sweep
67% similar

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

Key facts for sleepy
PropertyValue
Headwordsleepy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈsliːpi/
Letters6
Frequency rank#11,608
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs19
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sleepy”

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).sleepylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “skype” (#11,607), “smoothly” (#11,609), “skeptical” (#11,606). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sleepy” is #11,608. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around sleepy (IPA /ˈsliːpi/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #11,608 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for sleepy, with forms such as "lseepy", "selepy", and "sleeppy". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 19 confusable-pair relationships, "slept", "steep", "sweep", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *slēpaz Proto-West Germanic *slāp Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Proto-West Germanic *slāpag Old English *slǣpiġ Middle English slepy English sleepy From Middle English slepy, from Old En… The correct English form is sleepy, spelled S-L-E-E-P-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Tired; feeling the need for sleep.
  2. 2
    Suggesting tiredness.
  3. 3
    Tending to induce sleep.
  4. 4
    Dull; lazy.
  5. 5
    Quiet; without bustle or activity.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She wak'd her sleepy crew.
  2. At the very moment he cried out, David realised that what he had run into was only the Christmas tree. Disgusted with himself at such cowardice, he spat a needle from his mouth, stepped back from the tree and listened. There were no sounds of any movement upstairs: no shouts, no sleepy grumbles, only a gentle tinkle from the decorations as the tree had re…

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *slēpaz Proto-West Germanic *slāp Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Proto-West Germanic *slāpag Old English *slǣpiġ Middle English slepy English sleepy From Middle English slepy, from Old English *slǣpiġ (attested in unslǣpiġ (“sleepless”)), from Proto-West Germanic *slāpag (“sleepy”), equivalent to sleep + -y. Cognate with Saterland Frisian släipich (“sleepy”), West Frisian sliepich (“sleepy”), dialectal Dutch slapig, slepig (“sleepy”), German Low German slapig, släpig, slöpig (“sleepy”), archaic German schlafig (“sleepy”).

Synonyms

adrowsebedroomydozydopeydragging one's taildrowsyeyelids at half-mastnodding offoscitantout of steamsleepboundsleepishsleepyslombrysnoozyslumberfulslumberousslumbersomeslumberysomniculoussomnolentsomnolescenttired

Antonyms

nonsleepyunsleepy

This word in other languages

cansado(Español)somnolent(Français)schläfrig(Deutsch)sonolento(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • lseepy
  • selepy
  • sleeppy
  • sleepyy
  • sleeyp
  • slepey
  • slepy
  • slleepy
  • ssleepy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sleepy - 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.

lseepy2selepy2sleeppy1sleepyy1sleeyp2slepey2slepy1slleepy1
Edit distance from "sleepy"

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 "sleepy"?
"sleepy" is spelled S-L-E-E-P-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsliːpi/.
What does "sleepy" mean?
As an adjective, "sleepy" means: Tired; feeling the need for sleep.
What words are commonly confused with "sleepy"?
"sleepy" is commonly confused with "slept", "steep", "sweep". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sleepy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sleepy" is /ˈsliːpi/. 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 "sleepy"?
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *slēpaz Proto-West Germanic *slāp Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Proto-West Germanic *slāpag Old English *slǣpiġ Middle English slepy English sleepy From Middle English slepy, f... 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 "sleepy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

staple#11,611strand#11,615revive#11,596ransom#11,588

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

stunned9 variantsurging9 variantsadvent9 variantsbakery9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list