theme

/θiːm/

//θiːm// noun

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

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

The verdict

“theme” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,411. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,411
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A subject, now especially of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic.

Corpus desk

Index EN-theme · theme · English

theme · rank #2,411 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,411
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH talked

Nearest frequency peer: talked (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “theme”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “theme” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

theme vs they
60% similar
theme vs time
60% similar
theme vs then
60% similar

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

Key facts for theme
PropertyValue
Headwordtheme
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/θiːm/
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,411
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “theme” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).themelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “talked” (#2,410), “Thursday” (#2,412), “suicide” (#2,409). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around theme (IPA /θiːm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,411 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for theme, with forms such as "hteme", "tehme", and "theem". 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, "they", "time", "then", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English teme, from Old French teme, tesme (French thème), from Latin thema, from Ancient Greek θέμα (théma), from τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put, place”), reduplicative from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, do”) (whence also English do). D… The correct English form is theme, spelled T-H-E-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A subject, now especially of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic.
  2. 2
    A recurring idea; a motif.
  3. 3
    A recurring idea; a motif.
  4. 4
    An essay written for school.
  5. 5
    The main melody of a piece of music, especially one that is the source of variations.
  6. 6
    A song, or a snippet of a song, that identifies a film, a TV program, a character, etc. by playing at the appropriate time.
  7. 7
    An additional puzzle within the crossword, typically involving a set of non-standard clues or answers.
  8. 8
    The stem of a word.
  9. 9
    Thematic relation of a noun phrase to a verb.
  10. 10
    Theta role in generative grammar and government and binding theory.
  11. 11
    Topic, what is generally being talked about.
  12. 12
    A regional unit of organisation in the Byzantine empire.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. "Had not you once a beautiful daughter, named Mary?" said the stranger. "It is a heartrending question, man," said Andrew; "but certes, I had once a beloved daughter named Mary." "What became of her?" asked the stranger. Andrew shook his head, turned round, and began to move away; it was a theme that his heart could not brook.
  2. variations on the theme of entrepreneurial resourcefulness

Etymology

From Middle English teme, from Old French teme, tesme (French thème), from Latin thema, from Ancient Greek θέμα (théma), from τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put, place”), reduplicative from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, do”) (whence also English do). Doublet of thema.

This word in other languages

tema(Español)thème(Français)Thema(Deutsch)tema(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hteme
  • tehme
  • theem
  • themme
  • thheme
  • thmee
  • ttheme

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hteme2tehme2theem2themme1thheme1thmee2ttheme1
Edit distance from "theme"

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 "theme"?
"theme" is spelled T-H-E-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /θiːm/.
What does "theme" mean?
As a noun, "theme" means: A subject, now especially of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic.
What words are commonly confused with "theme"?
"theme" is commonly confused with "they", "time", "then". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "theme"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "theme" is /θiːm/. 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 "theme"?
From Middle English teme, from Old French teme, tesme (French thème), from Latin thema, from Ancient Greek θέμα (théma), from τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put, place”), reduplicative from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, do”) (whence also Engl... 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 "theme", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

usual#2,417pages#2,402walls#2,422minor#2,397

Similar misspelling depth

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

mayor7 variantsgiant7 variantscream7 variantsnovel7 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "theme". Here's where to go from here.

  • "theme" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "they". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #2,411 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "T" letter cohort. T–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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