smile

/ˈsmaɪl/

//ˈsmaɪl// noun

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

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

The verdict

“smile” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,316. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,316
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A facial expression comprised by flexing the muscles of both ends of one's mouth, often showing the front teeth, without vocalisation, and in humans is a common involuntary or voluntary expression ...

Corpus desk

Index EN-smile · smile · English

smile · rank #2,316 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,316
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH secure

Nearest frequency peer: secure (-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 “smile”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “smile” 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).

smile vs soil
60% similar
smile vs sole
60% similar
smile vs still
60% similar

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

Key facts for smile
PropertyValue
Headwordsmile
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsmaɪl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,316
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “smile”

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).smilelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “secure” (#2,315), “strange” (#2,317), “sat” (#2,314). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “smile” is #2,316. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around smile (IPA /ˈsmaɪl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,316 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for smile, with forms such as "msile", "simle", and "smiel". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "soil", "sole", "still", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English smilen (“to smile”), from Middle Low German *smîlen (“to smile”), from Middle High German smielen, from Old High German smielēn, from Proto-West Germanic *smīlēn, from Proto-Germanic *smīlāną (“to smile”), from Proto-Indo-European *smey-… The correct English form is smile, spelled S-M-I-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A facial expression comprised by flexing the muscles of both ends of one's mouth, often showing the front teeth, without vocalisation, and in humans is a common involuntary or voluntary expression of happiness, pleasure, amusement, goodwill, or anxiety.
  2. 2
    Favour; propitious regard.
  3. 3
    A drink bought by one person for another.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She's got a perfect smile.
  2. He has a sinister smile.

Etymology

From Middle English smilen (“to smile”), from Middle Low German *smîlen (“to smile”), from Middle High German smielen, from Old High German smielēn, from Proto-West Germanic *smīlēn, from Proto-Germanic *smīlāną (“to smile”), from Proto-Indo-European *smey- (“to laugh, be glad, wonder”). Cognate with Danish smile, Swedish smila, Faroese smíla (“to smile”); also Saterland Frisian smielje (“to smile”), Low German smielen (“to smile”), Dutch smuilen (“to smile”), Middle High German smielen (“to smile”). Related also to Old High German smierōn (“to smile”), Old English smerian (“to laugh at”), Old English smercian, smearcian ("to smile"; > English smirk), Latin mīror (“to wonder at”).

Synonyms

smile

This word in other languages

sonrisa(Español)sourire(Français)Lächeln(Deutsch)sorriso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • msile
  • simle
  • smiel
  • smille
  • smlie
  • smmile
  • ssmile

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

msile2simle2smiel2smille1smlie2smmile1ssmile1
Edit distance from "smile"

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 "smile"?
"smile" is spelled S-M-I-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsmaɪl/.
What does "smile" mean?
As a noun, "smile" means: A facial expression comprised by flexing the muscles of both ends of one's mouth, often showing the front teeth, without vocalisation, and in humans is a common involuntary or voluntary expression ...
What words are commonly confused with "smile"?
"smile" is commonly confused with "soil", "sole", "still". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "smile"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "smile" is /ˈsmaɪl/. 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 "smile"?
From Middle English smilen (“to smile”), from Middle Low German *smîlen (“to smile”), from Middle High German smielen, from Old High German smielēn, from Proto-West Germanic *smīlēn, from Proto-Germanic *smīlāną (“to smile”), from Proto-Indo-Europ... 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 "smile", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

truck#2,323votes#2,324phase#2,306mixed#2,305

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

blame7 variantscauses7 variantsfault7 variantsfalse7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list