taken

/ˈteɪ.kn̩/

//ˈteɪ.kn̩// adj

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

"taken" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“taken” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #474. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#474
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Infatuated; fond of or attracted to.

Corpus desk

Index EN-taken · taken · English

taken · rank #474 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #474
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH stay

Nearest frequency peer: stay (-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 “taken”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “taken” 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).

taken vs ten
60% similar
taken vs tan
60% similar
taken vs then
60% similar

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

Key facts for taken
PropertyValue
Headwordtaken
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈteɪ.kn̩/
Letters5
Frequency rank#474
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “taken”

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).takenlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “stay” (#473), “age” (#475), “short” (#472). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “taken” is #474. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around taken (IPA /ˈteɪ.kn̩/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #474 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for taken, with forms such as "atken", "taekn", and "takenn". 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, "ten", "tan", "then", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English taken, takenn, from Old English tacen, *ġetacen, from Old Norse tekinn, from Proto-Germanic *tēkanaz, past participle of Proto-Germanic *tēkaną (“to take; grasp; touch”). Cognate with Scots takin, tane, Danish tagen, Swedish tagen, Icela… The correct English form is taken, spelled T-A-K-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Infatuated; fond of or attracted to.
  2. 2
    In a serious romantic relationship.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He was very taken with the girl, I hear.
  2. I can't ask her out, she's taken.

Etymology

From Middle English taken, takenn, from Old English tacen, *ġetacen, from Old Norse tekinn, from Proto-Germanic *tēkanaz, past participle of Proto-Germanic *tēkaną (“to take; grasp; touch”). Cognate with Scots takin, tane, Danish tagen, Swedish tagen, Icelandic tekin. Morphologically take + -n.

This word in other languages

ergriffen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atken
  • taekn
  • takenn
  • takken
  • takne
  • tkaen
  • ttaken

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of taken - 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.

atken2taekn2takenn1takken1takne2tkaen2ttaken1
Edit distance from "taken"

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 "taken"?
"taken" is spelled T-A-K-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈteɪ.kn̩/.
What does "taken" mean?
As an adjective, "taken" means: Infatuated; fond of or attracted to.
What words are commonly confused with "taken"?
"taken" is commonly confused with "ten", "tan", "then". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "taken"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "taken" is /ˈteɪ.kn̩/. 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 "taken"?
From Middle English taken, takenn, from Old English tacen, *ġetacen, from Old Norse tekinn, from Proto-Germanic *tēkanaz, past participle of Proto-Germanic *tēkaną (“to take; grasp; touch”). Cognate with Scots takin, tane, Danish tagen, Swedish ta... 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 "taken", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

short#472light#467third#483among#486

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

won't7 variantswoman7 variantsasked7 variantshuman7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list