stranger
/ˈstɹeɪnd͡ʒə(ɹ)/
"stranger" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“stranger” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,493 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #4,493
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
- 13
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - comparative form of strange: more strange
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 | stranger |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈstɹeɪnd͡ʒə(ɹ)/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #4,493 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 13 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “stranger” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for stranger is 8 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈstɹeɪnd͡ʒə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,493 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "comparative form of strange: more strange".
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for stranger, with forms such as "srtanger", "sstranger", and "starnger". 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 13 confusable-pair relationships, "stronger", "strangle", "stringer", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form. The correct English form is stranger, spelled S-T-R-A-N-G-E-R.
Definition
- 1comparative form of strange: more strange
Etymology
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: srtanger,sstranger,starnger,stragner,stranegr,strangerr,strangger,strangre,strannger,strnager,strranger,sttranger,tsranger
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stranger - 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 "stranger"?
What does "stranger" mean?
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Using “stranger”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-T-R-A-N-G-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈstɹeɪnd͡ʒə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “stronger” - see the side-by-side comparison. stranger vs stronger
- 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.