unhappy
/ʌnˈhæpi/
"unhappy" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“unhappy” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,535 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #6,535
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Not happy; sad.
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 | unhappy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ʌnˈhæpi/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #6,535 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “unhappy” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for unhappy is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ʌnˈhæpi/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,535 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for unhappy, with forms such as "nuhappy", "uhnappy", and "unahppy". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "unhappily", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English unhappy; equivalent to un- + happy. The correct English form is unhappy, spelled U-N-H-A-P-P-Y.
Definition
- 1Not happy; sad.
- 2Not satisfied; unsatisfied.
- 3Not lucky; unlucky.
- 4Not suitable; unsuitable.
Etymology
From Middle English unhappy; equivalent to un- + happy.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: nuhappy,uhnappy,unahppy,unhappyy,unhapy,unhapyp,unhhappy,unhpapy,unnhappy
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of unhappy - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “unhappy”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is U-N-H-A-P-P-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ʌnˈhæpi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “unhappily” - see the side-by-side comparison. unhappy vs unhappily
- 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.