twenty

/ˈtwɛnti/

//ˈtwɛnti// num

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

"twenty" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“twenty” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,274 in English word frequency and used as a numeral.

#2,274
frequency rank, English
6
letters
10
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The cardinal number 20, occurring after nineteen and before twenty-one.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

twenty vs twisty
67% similar
twenty vs tent
67% similar
twenty vs tweet
67% similar

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

Key facts for twenty
PropertyValue
Headwordtwenty
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNumeral
IPA/ˈtwɛnti/
Letters6
Frequency rank#2,274
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “twenty” 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). twenty 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 twenty is 6 letters long, classified as a numeral, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtwɛnti/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,274 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "The cardinal number 20, occurring after nineteen and before twenty-one.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for twenty, with forms such as "tewnty", "ttwenty", and "twennty". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "twisty", "tent", "tweet", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English twenty, twenti, from Old English twēntiġ (“twenty”, literally “two tens”), from Proto-Germanic *twaintigiwiz, *twai tigiwiz, an old compound of *twain- (“two”) + *-tigaz (“group of ten”), equivalent to two + -ty, or twain + -ty. Cognate … The correct English form is twenty, spelled T-W-E-N-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The cardinal number 20, occurring after nineteen and before twenty-one.

Etymology

From Middle English twenty, twenti, from Old English twēntiġ (“twenty”, literally “two tens”), from Proto-Germanic *twaintigiwiz, *twai tigiwiz, an old compound of *twain- (“two”) + *-tigaz (“group of ten”), equivalent to two + -ty, or twain + -ty. Cognate with Scots twenty, tuenty (“twenty”), West Frisian tweintich (“twenty”), Dutch twintig (“twenty”), German zwanzig (“twenty”), Danish tyve.

This word in other languages

veinte(Español)vingt(Français)zwanzig(Deutsch)vinte(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: tewnty,ttwenty,twennty,twentty,twentyy,twenyt,twetny,twnety,twwenty,wtenty

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

tewnty2ttwenty1twennty1twentty1twentyy1twenyt2twetny2twnety2
Edit distance from "twenty"

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 "twenty"?
"twenty" is spelled T-W-E-N-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtwɛnti/.
What does "twenty" mean?
As a numeral, "twenty" means: The cardinal number 20, occurring after nineteen and before twenty-one.
What words are commonly confused with "twenty"?
"twenty" is commonly confused with "twisty", "tent", "tweet". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "twenty"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "twenty" is /ˈtwɛnti/. 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 "twenty"?
From Middle English twenty, twenti, from Old English twēntiġ (“twenty”, literally “two tens”), from Proto-Germanic *twaintigiwiz, *twai tigiwiz, an old compound of *twain- (“two”) + *-tigaz (“group of ten”), equivalent to two + -ty, or twain + -ty... 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 “twenty”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is T-W-E-N-T-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈtwɛnti/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “twisty” - see the side-by-side comparison. twenty vs twisty
  • 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