subject
/ˈsʌb.d͡ʒɛkt/
"subject" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“subject” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,175 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #1,175
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Likely to be affected by or to experience something; liable.
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 | subject |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈsʌb.d͡ʒɛkt/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #1,175 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “subject” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for subject is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsʌb.d͡ʒɛkt/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,175 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for subject, with forms such as "sbuject", "ssubject", and "subbject". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "subset", "suspect", "subvert", 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 Middle English subget, from Old French suget, from Latin subiectus (“lying under or near, adjacent, also subject, exposed”), as a noun, subiectus (“a subject, an inferior”), subiectum (“the subject of a proposition”), past participle of subiciō (“throw… The correct English form is subject, spelled S-U-B-J-E-C-T.
Definition
- 1Likely to be affected by or to experience something; liable.
- 2Conditional upon something; used with to.
- 3Placed or situated under; lying below, or in a lower situation.
- 4Placed under the power of another; owing allegiance to a particular sovereign or state.
Etymology
From Middle English subget, from Old French suget, from Latin subiectus (“lying under or near, adjacent, also subject, exposed”), as a noun, subiectus (“a subject, an inferior”), subiectum (“the subject of a proposition”), past participle of subiciō (“throw, lay, place”), from sub (“under, at the foot of”) + iaciō (“throw, hurl”), as a calque of Ancient Greek ὑποκείμενον (hupokeímenon).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: sbuject,ssubject,subbject,subejct,subjcet,subjecct,subjectt,subjetc,subjject,sujbect,usbject
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of subject - 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
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Using “subject”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-U-B-J-E-C-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsʌb.d͡ʒɛkt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “subset” - see the side-by-side comparison. subject vs subset
- 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.