Ankara
/ˈæŋ.kə.ɹə/
"ankara" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Ankara” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #18,013 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #18,013
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The capital city of Turkey and the capital of Ankara Province.
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 | Ankara |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈæŋ.kə.ɹə/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #18,013 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Ankara” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Ankara is 6 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈæŋ.kə.ɹə/. Corpus data places it at rank #18,013 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Ankara, with forms such as "aknara", "anakra", and "ankaar". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "Anwar", "Ansar", "Ansari", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Turkish Ankara and Ottoman Turkish آنقره (Ankara), from Byzantine Greek and Ancient Greek Ἄγκυρα (Ánkura), from ἄγκυρα (ánkura, “anchor, hook”) in reference to the bend in the Çölova River before it merges with the Cubuk to become the Ankara but probab… The correct English form is Ankara, spelled A-N-K-A-R-A.
Definition
- 1The capital city of Turkey and the capital of Ankara Province.
- 2The Turkish government.
- 3A province and metropolitan municipality in central Turkey around the city.
- 4A small river in Ankara Province, Turkey near the city, a tributary of the Sakarya.
Etymology
From Turkish Ankara and Ottoman Turkish آنقره (Ankara), from Byzantine Greek and Ancient Greek Ἄγκυρα (Ánkura), from ἄγκυρα (ánkura, “anchor, hook”) in reference to the bend in the Çölova River before it merges with the Cubuk to become the Ankara but probably also calquing a local name ultimately derived from Hittite 𒌷𒀭𒆪𒉿 (Ankuwa), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enk- (“elbow, bend, curve”). The river and province are named for the city. Doublet of Angora, angle, and anchor.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: aknara,anakra,ankaar,ankarra,ankkara,ankraa,annkara,nakara
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Ankara - 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
How do you spell "Ankara"?
What does "Ankara" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Ankara"?
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Using “Ankara”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-N-K-A-R-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈæŋ.kə.ɹə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Anwar” - see the side-by-side comparison. Ankara vs Anwar
- 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.