sphinx
/ˈsfɪŋks/
"sphinx" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sphinx” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #29,100 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #29,100
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 13
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A creature with the head of a person and the body of an animal, commonly a lion.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sphinx |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsfɪŋks/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #29,100 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 13 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sphinx” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for sphinx is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsfɪŋks/. Corpus data places it at rank #29,100 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for sphinx, with forms such as "pshinx", "shpinx", and "sphhinx". 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 13 confusable-pair relationships, "spin", "spine", "spins", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Sphinx, from Middle English Spynx, from Latin Sphinx, from Ancient Greek Σφίγξ (Sphínx), perhaps either from σφίγγω (sphíngō, “to squeeze, to strangle”) (whence also sphincter), of Pre-Greek origin, or from Egyptian Szp:p-A53-anx-n:x (šzp-ꜥnḫ, “divine … The correct English form is sphinx, spelled S-P-H-I-N-X.
Definition
- 1A creature with the head of a person and the body of an animal, commonly a lion.
- 2A person who keeps their thoughts and intentions secret; an enigmatic or impassive person.
- 3A mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx), formerly classified as a baboon, and called sphinx baboon.
- 4A sphinx moth.
- 5A sphincter.
Etymology
From Sphinx, from Middle English Spynx, from Latin Sphinx, from Ancient Greek Σφίγξ (Sphínx), perhaps either from σφίγγω (sphíngō, “to squeeze, to strangle”) (whence also sphincter), of Pre-Greek origin, or from Egyptian Szp:p-A53-anx-n:x (šzp-ꜥnḫ, “divine image”, literally “living image”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: pshinx,shpinx,sphhinx,sphinnx,sphinxx,sphixn,sphnix,spihnx,spphinx,ssphinx
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sphinx - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "sphinx"?
What does "sphinx" mean?
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Using “sphinx”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-P-H-I-N-X - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsfɪŋks/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “spin” - see the side-by-side comparison. sphinx vs spin
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.