typeof Returns A String

Ask for the type of a type and you always get "string".

In 2026: Still works. typeof always returns a string naming the type. So typeof 1 is "number", and typeof "number" is "string". That means typeof typeof anything is always "string", no matter what you start with.

Where it came from: The typeof operator always yields a string, so applying it twice can only ever return "string", as MDN's typeof page shows. MDN ↗

<script>
document.write("<p><code>typeof 1</code> is <b>" + (typeof 1) + "</b></p>");
document.write("<p><code>typeof typeof 1</code> is <b>" + (typeof typeof 1) + "</b></p>");
document.write("<p><code>typeof typeof anything</code> is always <b>string</b>.</p>");
</script>