sparrow

/ˈspæɹ.əʊ/

//ˈspæɹ.əʊ// noun

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

"sparrow" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sparrow” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,512. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,512
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The house sparrow, Passer domesticus; a small bird with a short bill, and brown, white and gray feathers.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sparrow · sparrow · English

sparrow · rank #15,512 · 9 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #15,512
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH speculate

Nearest frequency peer: speculate (+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 “sparrow”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sparrow” 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).

sparrow vs sorrow
71% similar

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

Key facts for sparrow
PropertyValue
Headwordsparrow
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈspæɹ.əʊ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#15,512
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sparrow”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “speculate” (#15,513), “sooo” (#15,510), “spinach” (#15,514). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sparrow” is #15,512. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around sparrow (IPA /ˈspæɹ.əʊ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,512 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 sparrow, with forms such as "psarrow", "saprrow", and "sparorw". 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, "sorrow", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sparwe, sparowe, from Old English spearwa, from Proto-West Germanic *sparwō, from Proto-Germanic *sparwô, from Proto-Indo-European *spḗr (“sparrow”). Cognate with Dutch spreeuw (“starling”), Alemannic German Spar (“sparrow”), German Sper… The correct English form is sparrow, spelled S-P-A-R-R-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    The house sparrow, Passer domesticus; a small bird with a short bill, and brown, white and gray feathers.
  2. 2
    A member of the family Passeridae, comprising small Old World songbirds.
  3. 3
    A member of the family Passerellidae (or Emberizidae, under classification systems that subsume the New World sparrows under Emberizidae), comprising small New World songbirds.
  4. 4
    Generically, any small, nondescript bird.
  5. 5
    A quick-witted, lively person.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Man progresses generally, not both legs at once like a sparrow, but by putting one leg forward first, and then the other.
  2. In a poem by Sappho, Aphrodite is represented as riding in a car drawn by sparrows.

Etymology

From Middle English sparwe, sparowe, from Old English spearwa, from Proto-West Germanic *sparwō, from Proto-Germanic *sparwô, from Proto-Indo-European *spḗr (“sparrow”). Cognate with Dutch spreeuw (“starling”), Alemannic German Spar (“sparrow”), German Sperling (“sparrow”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål spurv (“sparrow”), Norwegian Nynorsk sporv (“sparrow”), Swedish sparv (“sparrow”), Breton frao (“crow”), Tocharian A ṣpārāñ, Ancient Greek ψάρ (psár, “starling”).

This word in other languages

gorrión(Español)moineau(Français)Sperling(Deutsch)pardal(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psarrow
  • saprrow
  • sparorw
  • sparow
  • sparroww
  • sparrwo
  • spparrow
  • sprarow
  • ssparrow

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

psarrow2saprrow2sparorw2sparow1sparroww1sparrwo2spparrow1sprarow2
Edit distance from "sparrow"

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 "sparrow"?
"sparrow" is spelled S-P-A-R-R-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈspæɹ.əʊ/.
What does "sparrow" mean?
As a noun, "sparrow" means: The house sparrow, Passer domesticus; a small bird with a short bill, and brown, white and gray feathers.
What words are commonly confused with "sparrow"?
"sparrow" is commonly confused with "sorrow". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sparrow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sparrow" is /ˈspæɹ.əʊ/. 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 "sparrow"?
From Middle English sparwe, sparowe, from Old English spearwa, from Proto-West Germanic *sparwō, from Proto-Germanic *sparwô, from Proto-Indo-European *spḗr (“sparrow”). Cognate with Dutch spreeuw (“starling”), Alemannic German Spar (“sparrow”), G... 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 "sparrow", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

spinach#15,514shutter#15,507Strauss#15,519styling#15,521

Similar misspelling depth

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

stoned9 variantsSharma9 variantstequila9 variantspsych9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list