thankfully

adv

"thankfully" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“thankfully” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #9,676 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.

#9,676
frequency rank, English
10
letters
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In a thankful manner; giving thanks.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

thankfully vs thankful
80% similar

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

Key facts for thankfully
PropertyValue
Headwordthankfully
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
Letters10
Frequency rank#9,676
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “thankfully” 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). thankfully lands here:

#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 thankfully is 10 letters long, classified as an adverb. Corpus data places it at rank #9,676 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for thankfully, with forms such as "htankfully", "tahnkfully", and "thaknfully". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "thankful", 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 thankfully, thankefully, þonkfulliche, from Old English þancfullīċe, equivalent to thankful + -ly. The correct English form is thankfully, spelled T-H-A-N-K-F-U-L-L-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    In a thankful manner; giving thanks.
  2. 2
    fortunately, gratefully.

Etymology

From Middle English thankfully, thankefully, þonkfulliche, from Old English þancfullīċe, equivalent to thankful + -ly.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: htankfully,tahnkfully,thaknfully,thanfkully,thankffully,thankfluly,thankfullyy,thankfuly,thankfulyl,thankkfully,thankuflly,thannkfully,thhankfully,thnakfully,tthankfully

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

htankfully2tahnkfully2thaknfully2thanfkully2thankffully1thankfluly2thankfullyy1thankfuly1
Edit distance from "thankfully"

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 "thankfully"?
"thankfully" is spelled T-H-A-N-K-F-U-L-L-Y.
What does "thankfully" mean?
As an adverb, "thankfully" means: In a thankful manner; giving thanks.
What words are commonly confused with "thankfully"?
"thankfully" is commonly confused with "thankful". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "thankfully"?
From Middle English thankfully, thankefully, þonkfulliche, from Old English þancfullīċe, equivalent to thankful + -ly. 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 “thankfully”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is T-H-A-N-K-F-U-L-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “thankful” - see the side-by-side comparison. thankfully vs thankful
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list