whimsy
/ˈwɪmzi/
"whimsy" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“whimsy” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #47,419 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #47,419
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 9
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A quaint and fanciful idea; a whim; playfully odd behaviour.
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 | whimsy |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈwɪmzi/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #47,419 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 9 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “whimsy” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for whimsy is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈwɪmzi/. Corpus data places it at rank #47,419 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for whimsy, with forms such as "hwimsy", "whhimsy", and "whimmsy". 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 9 confusable-pair relationships, "whisk", "whiny", "wimpy", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: Probably from whims + -y. Related to whim-wham, whim. The correct English form is whimsy, spelled W-H-I-M-S-Y.
Definition
- 1A quaint and fanciful idea; a whim; playfully odd behaviour.
- 2An impulsive, illogical or capricious character.
- 3A whim (capstan or vertical drum).
- 4A jigsaw puzzle piece that has been cut into a recognizable shape, as if on a whim; often the shape is representative of the theme of the image used for the puzzle.
- 5The support that protects a finished piece as it is detached from a punty.
Etymology
Probably from whims + -y. Related to whim-wham, whim.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hwimsy,whhimsy,whimmsy,whimssy,whimsyy,whimys,whismy,whmisy,wihmsy,wwhimsy
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of whimsy - 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.
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 “whimsy”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is W-H-I-M-S-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈwɪmzi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “whisk” - see the side-by-side comparison. whimsy vs whisk
- 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.