yearn
/jɜːn/
"yearn" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“yearn” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #30,293 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #30,293
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 16
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To have a strong desire for something or to do something; to long for or to do something.
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 | yearn |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /jɜːn/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #30,293 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 16 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “yearn” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for yearn is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /jɜːn/. Corpus data places it at rank #30,293 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 8 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 yearn, with forms such as "eyarn", "yaern", and "yeanr". 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 16 confusable-pair relationships, "yen", "yer", "yuan", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is derived from Middle English yernen, yern (“to express or feel desire; to desire, long or wish for; to lust after; to ask or demand for”) [and other forms], from Old English ġeornan (“to desire, yearn; to beg”) [and other forms], from Proto-West … The correct English form is yearn, spelled Y-E-A-R-N.
Definition
- 1To have a strong desire for something or to do something; to long for or to do something.
- 2To have a strong desire for something or to do something; to long for or to do something.
- 3Of music, words, etc.: to express strong desire or longing.
- 4To have strong feelings of affection, love, sympathy, etc., toward someone.
- 5To be distressed or pained; to grieve; to mourn.
- 6Often followed by out: to perform (music) which conveys or say (words) which express strong desire or longing.
- 7To have a strong desire or longing (for something or to do something).
- 8To cause (someone) to have strong feelings of affection, love, sympathy, etc.; also, to grieve or pain (someone).
Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English yernen, yern (“to express or feel desire; to desire, long or wish for; to lust after; to ask or demand for”) [and other forms], from Old English ġeornan (“to desire, yearn; to beg”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *girnijan (“to be eager for, desire”), from Proto-Germanic *girnijaną (“to desire, want”), from *gernaz (“eager, willing”) (from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer- (“to yearn for”)) + *-janą (suffix forming factitive verbs from adjectives). The noun is derived from the verb.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: eyarn,yaern,yeanr,yearnn,yearrn,yeran,yyearn
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of yearn - 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 “yearn”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is Y-E-A-R-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /jɜːn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “yen” - see the side-by-side comparison. yearn vs yen
- 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.