Adonai

/əˈdəʊ.nʌɪ/

//əˈdəʊ.nʌɪ// name

"adonai" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Adonai” is an uncommon English word, ranked #70,438 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.

#70,438
frequency rank, English
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The Lord: a Hebrew title of God.

Key facts for Adonai
PropertyValue
HeadwordAdonai
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/əˈdəʊ.nʌɪ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#70,438
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Adonai” 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). Adonai 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 Adonai is 6 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈdəʊ.nʌɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #70,438 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "The Lord: a Hebrew title of God.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for Adonai, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Hebrew אֲדֹנָי (ʾădônāy, “My Lord”); used in place of the Tetragrammaton YHWH as a name of the deity of Abrahamic religion during prayer recitation. The correct English form is Adonai, spelled A-D-O-N-A-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    The Lord: a Hebrew title of God.

Etymology

From Hebrew אֲדֹנָי (ʾădônāy, “My Lord”); used in place of the Tetragrammaton YHWH as a name of the deity of Abrahamic religion during prayer recitation.

This word in other languages

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 "Adonai"?
"Adonai" is spelled A-D-O-N-A-I. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈdəʊ.nʌɪ/.
What does "Adonai" mean?
As a proper noun, "Adonai" means: The Lord: a Hebrew title of God.
How do you pronounce "Adonai"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Adonai" is /əˈdəʊ.nʌɪ/. 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 "Adonai"?
From Hebrew אֲדֹנָי (ʾădônāy, “My Lord”); used in place of the Tetragrammaton YHWH as a name of the deity of Abrahamic religion during prayer recitation. 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 “Adonai”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is A-D-O-N-A-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /əˈdəʊ.nʌɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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