swine

Name: swine, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/swaɪn/

//swaɪn// noun

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“swine” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #15,928 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#15,928
frequency rank, English: 5
letters: 7
tracked misspellings: 20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A pig (the animal).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

swine vs swing

80% similar

swine vs Swiss

40% similar

swine vs swipe

80% similar

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

Key facts for swine
Property	Value
Headword	swine
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/swaɪn/
Letters	5
Frequency rank	#15,928
Misspellings tracked	7
Confusable pairs	20
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “swine” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). swine lands here:

#15,928

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for swine is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /swaɪn/. Corpus data places it at rank #15,928 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 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for swine, with forms such as "siwne", "sswine", and "swien". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "swing", "Swiss", "swipe", 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 swyn, swin, from Old English swīn, from Proto-West Germanic *swīn, from Proto-Germanic *swīną, from an adjectival form of Proto-Indo-European *suH- (“pig”). Cognates Related to West Frisian swyn, Low German Swien, Dutch zwijn, German Sch… The correct English form is swine, spelled S-W-I-N-E.

Definition

1
A pig (the animal).
2
A pig (the animal). The Zimmerman farm introduced swine to their husbandry.
3
A contemptible person (plural swine or swines).
4
A police officer; a "pig".
5
Something difficult or awkward; a pain.

Etymology

From Middle English swyn, swin, from Old English swīn, from Proto-West Germanic *swīn, from Proto-Germanic *swīną, from an adjectival form of Proto-Indo-European *suH- (“pig”). Cognates Related to West Frisian swyn, Low German Swien, Dutch zwijn, German Schwein, Danish and Swedish svin, and more distantly to Polish świnia, Russian свинья́ (svinʹjá), Latin sūinus, Latin sūs, Ancient Greek ὗς (hûs), Persian خوک (xuk).

This word in other languages

cerdo(Español)porc(Français)Schwein(Deutsch)canalha(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: siwne,sswine,swien,swinne,swnie,swwine,wsine

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

Edit distance from "swine"

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 "swine"?

"swine" is spelled S-W-I-N-E. The IPA pronunciation is /swaɪn/.

What does "swine" mean?

As a noun, "swine" means: A pig (the animal).

What words are commonly confused with "swine"?

"swine" is commonly confused with "swing", "Swiss", "swipe". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "swine"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "swine" is /swaɪn/. 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 "swine"?

From Middle English swyn, swin, from Old English swīn, from Proto-West Germanic *swīn, from Proto-Germanic *swīną, from an adjectival form of Proto-Indo-European *suH- (“pig”). Cognates Related to West Frisian swyn, Low German Swien, Dutch zwijn, ... 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.

Using “swine”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is S-W-I-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /swaɪn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “swing” - see the side-by-side comparison. swine vs swing
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.