barangay

/bɐ.ɾɐŋˈɡaɪ̯/

//bɐ.ɾɐŋˈɡaɪ̯// noun

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

"barangay" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“barangay” is uncommon English (frequency #57,883 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,883
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The smallest local government unit in the Philippines, a subdivision of a city or municipality.

Corpus desk

Index EN-barangay · barangay · English

barangay · rank #57,883 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,883
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH banality

Nearest frequency peer: banality (-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 “barangay”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for barangay
PropertyValue
Headwordbarangay
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bɐ.ɾɐŋˈɡaɪ̯/
Letters8
Frequency rank#57,883
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “barangay” 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).barangayfalls 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: “banality” (#57,882), “Barbarossa” (#57,884), “Ballymena” (#57,881). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “barangay” is #57,883. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

barangay is uncommon English at frequency #57,883 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /bɐ.ɾɐŋˈɡaɪ̯/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for barangay in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Philippine Spanish barangay, from Tagalog balangay. The correct English form is barangay, spelled B-A-R-A-N-G-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The smallest local government unit in the Philippines, a subdivision of a city or municipality.
  2. 2
    Alternative form of balangay (“type of boat”).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Because of this active involvement of the civilian and other auxiliary units (e.g. barangay tanod), the police are able to devote their time and resources to the control and prevention of serious crimes.
  2. The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) shall establish and administer an appropriate system under which the punong barangay, the members of the sangguniang barangay, the barangay secretary, the barangay treasurer, and the members of the brangay tanod shall enjoy insurance coverage as provided in this Code and other pertinent laws .

Etymology

Borrowed from Philippine Spanish barangay, from Tagalog balangay.

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 "barangay"?
"barangay" is spelled B-A-R-A-N-G-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /bɐ.ɾɐŋˈɡaɪ̯/.
What does "barangay" mean?
As a noun, "barangay" means: The smallest local government unit in the Philippines, a subdivision of a city or municipality.
How do you pronounce "barangay"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "barangay" is /bɐ.ɾɐŋˈɡaɪ̯/. 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 "barangay"?
Borrowed from Philippine Spanish barangay, from Tagalog balangay. 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 "barangay", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

banality#57,882basilisk#57,885Ardennes#57,866arbitral#57,864

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list