sultan

/ˈsʌltən/

//ˈsʌltən// noun

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

"sultan" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sultan” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,336. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,336
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The holder of a secular office, formally subordinate to, but de facto the power behind the throne of, the caliph.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sultan · sultan · English

sultan · rank #12,336 · 9 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #12,336
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH substrate

Nearest frequency peer: substrate (-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 “sultan”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sultan” 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).

sultan vs Susan
50% similar
sultan vs Sutton
50% similar
sultan vs sultry
67% similar

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

Key facts for sultan
PropertyValue
Headwordsultan
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsʌltən/
Letters6
Frequency rank#12,336
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sultan”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).sultanlands 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 “substrate” (#12,335), “supremacy” (#12,337), “stitch” (#12,334). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sultan” is #12,336. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around sultan (IPA /ˈsʌltən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,336 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for sultan, with forms such as "slutan", "ssultan", and "sulatn". 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 11 confusable-pair relationships, "Susan", "Sutton", "sultry", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French sultan or Medieval Latin sultanus, from Ottoman Turkish سلطان (sultan), from Arabic سُلْطَان (sulṭān, “strength, authority, ruler”). Compare Hebrew שִׁלְטוֹן (shiltón) and סוּלְטָן (sultán). Doublet of soldan. The correct English form is sultan, spelled S-U-L-T-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The holder of a secular office, formally subordinate to, but de facto the power behind the throne of, the caliph.
  2. 2
    A hereditary ruler in various Muslim states (sultanate), varying from petty principalities (as in Yemen), often vassal of a greater ruler, to independent realms, such as Oman, Brunei, Morocco (until 1957) or an empire such as the Turkish Ottoman Empire.
  3. 3
    A variant of solitaire, played with two decks of cards.
  4. 4
    A breed of chicken originating in Turkey, kept primarily in gardens for ornamental reasons. See: sultan (chicken)

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Here from the king's mountain view Here from the wild dream come true Feast like a sultan, I do On treasures and flesh never few

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French sultan or Medieval Latin sultanus, from Ottoman Turkish سلطان (sultan), from Arabic سُلْطَان (sulṭān, “strength, authority, ruler”). Compare Hebrew שִׁלְטוֹן (shiltón) and סוּלְטָן (sultán). Doublet of soldan.

This word in other languages

sultán(Español)sultan(Français)Sultan(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • slutan
  • ssultan
  • sulatn
  • sulltan
  • sultann
  • sultna
  • sulttan
  • sutlan
  • usltan

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

slutan2ssultan1sulatn2sulltan1sultann1sultna2sulttan1sutlan2
Edit distance from "sultan"

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 "sultan"?
"sultan" is spelled S-U-L-T-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsʌltən/.
What does "sultan" mean?
As a noun, "sultan" means: The holder of a secular office, formally subordinate to, but de facto the power behind the throne of, the caliph.
What words are commonly confused with "sultan"?
"sultan" is commonly confused with "Susan", "Sutton", "sultry". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sultan"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sultan" is /ˈsʌltən/. 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 "sultan"?
Borrowed from Middle French sultan or Medieval Latin sultanus, from Ottoman Turkish سلطان (sultan), from Arabic سُلْطَان (sulṭān, “strength, authority, ruler”). Compare Hebrew שִׁלְטוֹן (shiltón) and סוּלְטָן (sultán). Doublet of soldan. 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 "sultan", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

stitch#12,334spared#12,330thirst#12,343unused#12,346

Similar misspelling depth

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

valleys9 variantsRomney9 variantsCarmen9 variantsmutant9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list