Baikal

/baɪˈkæl/

//baɪˈkæl// name

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

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

The verdict

“Baikal” is uncommon English (frequency #57,878 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,878
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A large freshwater lake in Siberia, Russia.

Corpus desk

Index EN-baikal · Baikal · English

Baikal · rank #57,878 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,878
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Baha

Nearest frequency peer: Baha (-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 “Baikal”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Baikal
PropertyValue
HeadwordBaikal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/baɪˈkæl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#57,878
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Baikal” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).Baikalfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Baha” (#57,877), “Ballymena” (#57,881), “banality” (#57,882). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “Baikal” is #57,878. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Baikal is uncommon English at frequency #57,878 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /baɪˈkæl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for Baikal, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Russian Байка́л (Bajkál, “Baikal”), from Buryat Байгал нуур (Bajgal nuur, “Lake Baikal”), perhaps ultimately from the Turkic *bāy (“rich”), and *köl, *kȫl (“lake”), with reference to the abundance of high-quality salmon in the lake. The Turkic origin i… The correct English form is Baikal, spelled B-A-I-K-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A large freshwater lake in Siberia, Russia.
  2. 2
    Baikal (Soviet and Russian non-alcoholic beverage)

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Of the Mongall Tartars. The Mongalls are a numerous people, and occupy a large extent of country, from this place to the Kallgan, which ſignifies the everlaſting Wall, or the great wall of China. From this wall they ſtretch themſelves northward as far as the river Amoor; and from the Amoor, weſtward, to the Baykail ſea ; where they border with the territo…

Etymology

From Russian Байка́л (Bajkál, “Baikal”), from Buryat Байгал нуур (Bajgal nuur, “Lake Baikal”), perhaps ultimately from the Turkic *bāy (“rich”), and *köl, *kȫl (“lake”), with reference to the abundance of high-quality salmon in the lake. The Turkic origin is rejected by Vasmer. Native Mongolic origins have also been proposed.

Synonyms

Lake BaikalNorth Sea

This word in other languages

Baïkal(Français)Baikalsee(Deutsch)

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 "Baikal"?
"Baikal" is spelled B-A-I-K-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /baɪˈkæl/.
What does "Baikal" mean?
As a proper noun, "Baikal" means: A large freshwater lake in Siberia, Russia.
How do you pronounce "Baikal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Baikal" is /baɪˈkæl/. 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 "Baikal"?
From Russian Байка́л (Bajkál, “Baikal”), from Buryat Байгал нуур (Bajgal nuur, “Lake Baikal”), perhaps ultimately from the Turkic *bāy (“rich”), and *köl, *kȫl (“lake”), with reference to the abundance of high-quality salmon in the lake. The Turki... 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 "Baikal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

asshat#57,871bitmap#57,897Aliyev#57,850buzzes#57,916

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list