vegan

/ˈviːɡən/

//ˈviːɡən// adj

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

"vegan" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“vegan” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #7,759 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#7,759
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Not containing animal products (meat, eggs, milk, leather, etc) or inherently involving animal use.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

vegan vs vein
60% similar
vegan vs vera
60% similar
vegan vs Venn
40% similar

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

Key facts for vegan
PropertyValue
Headwordvegan
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈviːɡən/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,759
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “vegan” 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). vegan 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 vegan is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈviːɡən/. Corpus data places it at rank #7,759 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for vegan, with forms such as "evgan", "veagn", and "vegann". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "vein", "vera", "Venn", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Middle English vegetable English vegetable English -arian English vegetarian English vegan Clipping of vegetarian or vegetable, 1944. Coined by English vegan activist Donald Watson of the Vegan Society and first used in the name of The Vegan … The correct English form is vegan, spelled V-E-G-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Not containing animal products (meat, eggs, milk, leather, etc) or inherently involving animal use.
  2. 2
    Committed to avoiding any product or practice that inherently involves animal use.
  3. 3
    Relating to vegans or veganism.

Etymology

Etymology tree Middle English vegetable English vegetable English -arian English vegetarian English vegan Clipping of vegetarian or vegetable, 1944. Coined by English vegan activist Donald Watson of the Vegan Society and first used in the name of The Vegan News.

This word in other languages

vegano(Español)végan(Français)vegan(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: evgan,veagn,vegann,veggan,vegna,vgean,vvegan

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

evgan2veagn2vegann1veggan1vegna2vgean2vvegan1
Edit distance from "vegan"

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 "vegan"?
"vegan" is spelled V-E-G-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈviːɡən/.
What does "vegan" mean?
As an adjective, "vegan" means: Not containing animal products (meat, eggs, milk, leather, etc) or inherently involving animal use.
What words are commonly confused with "vegan"?
"vegan" is commonly confused with "vein", "vera", "Venn". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "vegan"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vegan" is /ˈviːɡən/. 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 "vegan"?
Etymology tree Middle English vegetable English vegetable English -arian English vegetarian English vegan Clipping of vegetarian or vegetable, 1944. Coined by English vegan activist Donald Watson of the Vegan Society and first used in the name of ... 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 “vegan”

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

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