ama

/ˈɑː.mə/

//ˈɑː.mə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"ama" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ama” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #15,325) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#15,325
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alternative spelling of amah.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ama · ama · English

ama · rank #15,325 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,325
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH alarmed

Nearest frequency peer: alarmed (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “ama”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “ama” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ama vs as
33% similar
ama vs at
33% similar
ama vs an
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ama
PropertyValue
Headwordama
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɑː.mə/
Letters3
Frequency rank#15,325
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “ama”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).amalands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “alarmed” (#15,324), “ammo” (#15,326), “Ajax” (#15,323). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “ama” is #15,325. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for ama is neighbouring look-alikes ("as", "at", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈɑː.mə/. Frequency #15,325 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Gloss: "Alternative spelling of amah.".

ama doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "as", "at", "an", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Portuguese ama (“female nurse”), from Medieval Latin amma (“wet nurse, amma”), perhaps an alteration of mamma, of imitative origin, or from Ancient Greek. The correct English form is ama, spelled A-M-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Alternative spelling of amah.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ama appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Not only does the baby have a jewel then, or some handsome gift, but his ama (nurse) is remembered with a bright gold doubloon (sixteen dollars).
  2. Again as with Juan, shortly after the religious rite the children would be transferred to the care of wet nurses, or amas, who would take them into their individual homes.

Etymology

From Portuguese ama (“female nurse”), from Medieval Latin amma (“wet nurse, amma”), perhaps an alteration of mamma, of imitative origin, or from Ancient Greek.

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 "ama"?
"ama" is spelled A-M-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɑː.mə/.
What does "ama" mean?
As a noun, "ama" means: Alternative spelling of amah.
What words are commonly confused with "ama"?
"ama" is commonly confused with "as", "at", "an". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ama"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ama" is /ˈɑː.mə/. 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 "ama"?
From Portuguese ama (“female nurse”), from Medieval Latin amma (“wet nurse, amma”), perhaps an alteration of mamma, of imitative origin, or from Ancient Greek. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ama", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ACA#15,316ape#15,334wen#15,307tao#15,289

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list