Sufi

noun

"sufi" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Sufi” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #32,611. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#32,611
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A mystic Muslim; a Muslim ascetic; a practitioner of Sufism.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sufi · Sufi · English

Sufi · rank #32,611 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #32,611
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH subtraction

Nearest frequency peer: subtraction (-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 “Sufi”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “Sufi” 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).

Sufi vs sun
25% similar
Sufi vs sum
25% similar
Sufi vs SUV
25% similar

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

Key facts for Sufi
PropertyValue
HeadwordSufi
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters4
Frequency rank#32,611
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Sufi”

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).Sufilands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “subtraction” (#32,610), “summing” (#32,612), “Streisand” (#32,609). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “Sufi” is #32,611. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around Sufi, anoun. Corpus frequency is #32,611 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A mystic Muslim; a Muslim ascetic; a practitioner of Sufism.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for Sufi, with forms such as "sfui", "ssufi", and "suffi". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "sun", "sum", "SUV", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ottoman Turkish صوفی (sufi), from Arabic صُوفِيّ (ṣūfiyy, “man of wool”). The correct English form is Sufi, spelled S-U-F-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    A mystic Muslim; a Muslim ascetic; a practitioner of Sufism.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Some admired the external beauties of the objects they beheld, like the nightingale in love with the roſe; ſome inchanted by the concert around, like Suphys delighting in madneſs, toſſed the cup of exultation into the ſkies[.] [Footnote] Suphys are a sect of mad philoſophers.

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish صوفی (sufi), from Arabic صُوفِيّ (ṣūfiyy, “man of wool”).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • sfui
  • ssufi
  • suffi
  • suif
  • usfi

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Sufi - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

sfui2ssufi1suffi1suif2usfi2
Edit distance from "Sufi"

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 "Sufi"?
"Sufi" is spelled S-U-F-I.
What does "Sufi" mean?
As a noun, "Sufi" means: A mystic Muslim; a Muslim ascetic; a practitioner of Sufism.
What words are commonly confused with "Sufi"?
"Sufi" is commonly confused with "sun", "sum", "SUV". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "Sufi"?
From Ottoman Turkish صوفی (sufi), from Arabic صُوفِيّ (ṣūfiyy, “man of wool”). 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 "Sufi", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list