syntax
/ˈsɪn.tæks/
"syntax" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“syntax” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #14,432 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #14,432
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 2
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A set of rules that govern how words are combined to form phrases and sentences.
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 | syntax |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈsɪn.tæks/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #14,432 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 2 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “syntax” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for syntax is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsɪn.tæks/. Corpus data places it at rank #14,432 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for syntax, with forms such as "snytax", "ssyntax", and "synatx". 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 2 confusable-pair relationships, "synth", "Santa", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Partly from Late Latin syntaxis and partly from its etymon, Ancient Greek σύνταξις (súntaxis), from σύν (sún, “together”) + τάξις (táxis, “arrangement”), from τάσσω (tássō, “I arrange”). Doublet of syntaxis. The correct English form is syntax, spelled S-Y-N-T-A-X.
Definition
- 1A set of rules that govern how words are combined to form phrases and sentences.
- 2The formal rules of formulating the statements of a computer language.
- 3The study of the structure of phrases, sentences, and language.
Etymology
Partly from Late Latin syntaxis and partly from its etymon, Ancient Greek σύνταξις (súntaxis), from σύν (sún, “together”) + τάξις (táxis, “arrangement”), from τάσσω (tássō, “I arrange”). Doublet of syntaxis.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: snytax,ssyntax,synatx,synntax,syntaxx,synttax,syntxa,sytnax,syyntax,ysntax
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of syntax - 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 “syntax”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-Y-N-T-A-X - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsɪn.tæks/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “synth” - see the side-by-side comparison. syntax vs synth
- 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.