thin

/θɪn/

//θɪn// adj

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

"thin" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“thin” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,200. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,200
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite.

Corpus desk

Index EN-thin · thin · English

thin · rank #3,200 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,200
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH technique

Nearest frequency peer: technique (-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 “thin”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “thin” 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).

thin vs ti
50% similar
thin vs TN
0% similar
thin vs tip
50% similar

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

Key facts for thin
PropertyValue
Headwordthin
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/θɪn/
Letters4
Frequency rank#3,200
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “thin” 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).thinlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “technique” (#3,199), “tied” (#3,201), “tears” (#3,198). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around thin (IPA /θɪn/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #3,200 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 10 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for thin, with forms such as "htin", "thhin", and "thinn". 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, "ti", "TN", "tip", 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 thinne, thünne, thenne, from Old English þynne, from Proto-West Germanic *þunnī, from Proto-Germanic *þunnuz (“thin”) – compare *þanjaną (“to stretch, spread out”) – from Proto-Indo-European *ténh₂us (“thin”), from *ten- (“to stretch”). … The correct English form is thin, spelled T-H-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite.
  2. 2
    Very narrow in all diameters; having a cross section that is small in all directions.
  3. 3
    Having little body fat or flesh; slim; slender; lean; gaunt.
  4. 4
    Of low viscosity or low specific gravity.
  5. 5
    Scarce; not close, crowded, or numerous; not filling the space.
  6. 6
    Describing a poorly played golf shot where the ball is struck by the bottom part of the club head. See fat, shank, toe.
  7. 7
    Lacking body or volume; small; feeble; not full.
  8. 8
    Slight; small; slender; flimsy; superficial; inadequate; not sufficient for a covering.
  9. 9
    Of a route: relatively little used.
  10. 10
    Poor; scanty; without money or success.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. thin plate of metal; thin paper; thin board; thin covering
  2. It was no mystery at all, or a mystery covered only with the thinnest and most transparent veil, that forced abortion is a common practice among Turkish women. The horrible secret as to the means and the drugs to be employed is pretty generally known, and where ignorance prevails there are "wise women," old hags, professional abortists, who go about the c…

Etymology

From Middle English thinne, thünne, thenne, from Old English þynne, from Proto-West Germanic *þunnī, from Proto-Germanic *þunnuz (“thin”) – compare *þanjaną (“to stretch, spread out”) – from Proto-Indo-European *ténh₂us (“thin”), from *ten- (“to stretch”). Cognate with German dünn, Dutch dun, West Frisian tin, Icelandic þunnur, Danish tynd, Swedish tunn, Latin tenuis, Irish tanaí, Welsh tenau, Latvian tievs, Polish cienki, Russian тонкий (tonkij), Sanskrit तनु (tanú, “thin”), Persian تنگ (tang, “narrow”). Doublet of tenuis. Also related to tenuous.

Synonyms

narrownarrowfinereedyskinnyslenderslimsveltewaifishscrawnyrunnywateryrunnyspaced outsparsediffusescantscarceslight

Antonyms

thick

This word in other languages

fino(Español)mince(Français)dünn(Deutsch)ralo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • htin
  • thhin
  • thinn
  • thni
  • tihn
  • tthin

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of thin - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

htin2thhin1thinn1thni2tihn2tthin1
Edit distance from "thin"

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 "thin"?
"thin" is spelled T-H-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is /θɪn/.
What does "thin" mean?
As an adjective, "thin" means: Having little thickness or extent from one surface to its opposite.
What words are commonly confused with "thin"?
"thin" is commonly confused with "ti", "TN", "tip". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "thin"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "thin" is /θɪn/. 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 "thin"?
From Middle English thinne, thünne, thenne, from Old English þynne, from Proto-West Germanic *þunnī, from Proto-Germanic *þunnuz (“thin”) – compare *þanjaną (“to stretch, spread out”) – from Proto-Indo-European *ténh₂us (“thin”), from *ten- (“to s... 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 "thin", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tied#3,201cats#3,215drew#3,226Jews#3,174

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

argue6 variantsMiami6 variantscloud6 variantsharm6 variants

What to do next

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

  • "thin" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "ti". View pair
  • 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #3,200 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