babushka
/bəˈbuːʃ.kə/
"babushka" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“babushka” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An Eastern European old woman.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | babushka |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /bəˈbuːʃ.kə/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “babushka” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for babushka is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /bəˈbuːʃ.kə/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
babushka has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Russian ба́бушка (bábuška, “grandmother”), from Old East Slavic бабушка (babuška, “grandmother, midwife”). First attested in the 1830s. The correct English form is babushka, spelled B-A-B-U-S-H-K-A.
Definition
- 1An Eastern European old woman.
- 2An Eastern European old woman.
- 3A traditional floral headscarf worn by an Eastern European woman, tied under the chin.
- 4A Russian doll, a matryoshka.
Etymology
Borrowed from Russian ба́бушка (bábuška, “grandmother”), from Old East Slavic бабушка (babuška, “grandmother, midwife”). First attested in the 1830s.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “babushka”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-A-B-U-S-H-K-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /bəˈbuːʃ.kə/ (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.