Ainu
/ˈaɪnuː/
"ainu" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Ainu” is uncommon English (frequency #68,808 among 3,931 “A” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #68,808
- frequency rank, English
- 3,931
- “A” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A member of an ethnic group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ainu · Ainu · English
Ainu · rank #68,808 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #68,808
- LEN-MID 4 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,931
- PHOTO-FINISH Agosto
Nearest frequency peer: Agosto (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “Ainu”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- adepts
adepts
31,197 corpus weight
- Agosto
Agosto
31,194 corpus weight
- Ainu
Ainu
31,193 corpus weight
- aircon
aircon
31,192 corpus weight
- Alby
Alby
31,189 corpus weight
- allspice
allspice
31,187 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “Ainu” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Ainu |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈaɪnuː/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #68,808 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “Ainu” in English
Rare enough to double-check
Ainu is uncommon English at frequency #68,808 among 3,931 “A” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈaɪnuː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Ainu, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Japanese アイヌ (Ainu), from Ainu アイヌ (aynu, “person”). The correct English form is Ainu, spelled A-I-N-U.
Definition
- 1A member of an ethnic group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
- 2Synonym of Hokkaido (“a dog breed”).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how Ainu appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
In the past, the Ainu (their selfname meaning 'person'), traditionally huntergatherers, occupied not only Hokkaido but also a considerable part of the island of Honshu until the middle the eighteenth century, […]
[…] Hokkaidos or Ainus (smaller versions of the Akita); Akitas, Japanese Spitz, Japanese Chin, Nippon Terriers and Kai Ken.
Etymology
From Japanese アイヌ (Ainu), from Ainu アイヌ (aynu, “person”).
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Ainu", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).