trivia
/ˈtɹɪvi.ə/
"trivia" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“trivia” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #15,722 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #15,722
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Insignificant trifles of little importance, especially items of unimportant information; froth.
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 | trivia |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈtɹɪvi.ə/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #15,722 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “trivia” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for trivia is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtɹɪvi.ə/. Corpus data places it at rank #15,722 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for trivia, with forms such as "rtivia", "tirvia", and "triiva". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "Trixie", "trivial", "tibia", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *tréyes From Latin trivia, plural of trivium (“place where three roads meet”). The term came to be used for any public place, and then for anything commonplace. Furthermore, because the beginners' course at university was called trivium, the word … The correct English form is trivia, spelled T-R-I-V-I-A.
Definition
- 1Insignificant trifles of little importance, especially items of unimportant information; froth.
- 2A quiz game that involves obscure facts.
Etymology
PIE word *tréyes From Latin trivia, plural of trivium (“place where three roads meet”). The term came to be used for any public place, and then for anything commonplace. Furthermore, because the beginners' course at university was called trivium, the word came to be used only for anything basic, simple and trivial.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: rtivia,tirvia,triiva,trivai,trivvia,trrivia,trviia,ttrivia
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of trivia - 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.
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 "trivia"?
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Using “trivia”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is T-R-I-V-I-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈtɹɪvi.ə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Trixie” - see the side-by-side comparison. trivia vs Trixie
- 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.