un-
/ʌn/
"un" is a 2-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“un-” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a prefix - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 3
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - not
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | un- |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Prefix |
| IPA | /ʌn/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “un-” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for un- is 3 letters long, classified as a prefix, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ʌn/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for un-, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English un-, from Old English un-, from Proto-West Germanic *un-, from Proto-Germanic *un-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-. Cognate with Scots un-, on- (“un-”), North Frisian ün-, Saterland Frisian uun-, West Frisian ûn-, on-, Dutch on-, Low Germ… The correct English form is un-, spelled U-N--.
Definition
- 1not
- 2lack of
- 3contrary to traditional norms; unconventional
Etymology
From Middle English un-, from Old English un-, from Proto-West Germanic *un-, from Proto-Germanic *un-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-. Cognate with Scots un-, on- (“un-”), North Frisian ün-, Saterland Frisian uun-, West Frisian ûn-, on-, Dutch on-, Low German un-, on-, German un-, Danish u-, Swedish o-, Norwegian u-, Icelandic ó-. More distant cognate with Latin in-, Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (whence English a-, modern Greek α- (a-)) and Sanskrit अ- (a-). Doublet of in- and a-.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “un-”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is U-N-- - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ʌn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.