Bahasa

/baˈhɑːsə/

//baˈhɑːsə// name

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

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

The verdict

“Bahasa” is uncommon English (frequency #55,257 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,257
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - the Malay-Indonesian language

Corpus desk

Index EN-bahasa · Bahasa · English

Bahasa · rank #55,257 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #55,257
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Baileys

Nearest frequency peer: Baileys (+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 “Bahasa”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “Bahasa” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Bahasa
PropertyValue
HeadwordBahasa
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/baˈhɑːsə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#55,257
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Bahasa” in English

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).Bahasafalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “Baileys” (#55,258), “avidly” (#55,255), “bambino” (#55,259). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “Bahasa” is #55,257. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Bahasa is uncommon English at frequency #55,257 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /baˈhɑːsə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "the Malay-Indonesian language".

Zero misspellings are on record for Bahasa in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Indonesian and Malay bahasa (“language”), itself from Sanskrit भाषा (bhāṣā, “language”), as a shortening of Bahasa Indonesia/Bahasa Malaysia. Compare the use of Irish Béarla (“English”), originally simply meant "language". The correct English form is Bahasa, spelled B-A-H-A-S-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    the Malay-Indonesian language

Etymology

Borrowed from Indonesian and Malay bahasa (“language”), itself from Sanskrit भाषा (bhāṣā, “language”), as a shortening of Bahasa Indonesia/Bahasa Malaysia. Compare the use of Irish Béarla (“English”), originally simply meant "language".

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 "Bahasa"?
"Bahasa" is spelled B-A-H-A-S-A. The IPA pronunciation is /baˈhɑːsə/.
What does "Bahasa" mean?
As a proper noun, "Bahasa" means: the Malay-Indonesian language
How do you pronounce "Bahasa"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Bahasa" is /baˈhɑːsə/. 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 "Bahasa"?
Borrowed from Indonesian and Malay bahasa (“language”), itself from Sanskrit भाषा (bhāṣā, “language”), as a shortening of Bahasa Indonesia/Bahasa Malaysia. Compare the use of Irish Béarla (“English”), originally simply meant "language". 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 "Bahasa", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

avidly#55,255Asante#55,246Blaney#55,285aflame#55,221

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list