brash

/bɹæʃ/

//bɹæʃ// adj

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

"brash" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“brash” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,709. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,709
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Overly bold or self-assertive to the point of being insensitive, tactless or impudent; shameless.

Corpus desk

Index EN-brash · brash · English

brash · rank #30,709 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,709
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH boyer

Nearest frequency peer: boyer (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “brash”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “brash” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

brash vs bush
60% similar
brash vs bros
60% similar
brash vs bruh
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for brash
PropertyValue
Headwordbrash
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/bɹæʃ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#30,709
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “brash”

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).brashlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “boyer” (#30,708), “Bourke” (#30,707), “Brookfield” (#30,711). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “brash” is #30,709. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around brash (IPA /bɹæʃ/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #30,709 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for brash, with forms such as "barsh", "bbrash", and "brahs". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bush", "bros", "bruh", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Uncertain. Perhaps from Scots brash, brasch (“a violent onset; an attack or assault”). Perhaps also related to Dutch bars (“stern; strict”), German barsch (“harsh; unfriendly”), Danish barsk (“harsh; rough; tough”), Swedish barsk (“harsh; impetuous”). The correct English form is brash, spelled B-R-A-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Overly bold or self-assertive to the point of being insensitive, tactless or impudent; shameless.
  2. 2
    Overly bold, impetuous or rash.
  3. 3
    Bold, bright or showy, often in a tasteless way.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. a brash young businessman; a brash tabloid; a brash sense of humour
  2. Mrs. Mayfield looked away, and the girl stricken with remorse, hastened to her and said: “There, I have been too brash, haven’t I? You must forgive me for I didn’t intend to be brash.” “Brash, my dear? What do you mean by that?” She laughed. “Why, I thought everybody know’d what brash meant. Well, it’s er—too quick to say somethin’ you oughtn’t to say.”

Etymology

Uncertain. Perhaps from Scots brash, brasch (“a violent onset; an attack or assault”). Perhaps also related to Dutch bars (“stern; strict”), German barsch (“harsh; unfriendly”), Danish barsk (“harsh; rough; tough”), Swedish barsk (“harsh; impetuous”).

This word in other languages

procaz(Español)suffisant(Français)dreist(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • barsh
  • bbrash
  • brahs
  • brashh
  • brassh
  • brrash
  • brsah
  • rbash

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of brash - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

barsh2bbrash1brahs2brashh1brassh1brrash1brsah2rbash2
Edit distance from "brash"

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 "brash"?
"brash" is spelled B-R-A-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /bɹæʃ/.
What does "brash" mean?
As an adjective, "brash" means: Overly bold or self-assertive to the point of being insensitive, tactless or impudent; shameless.
What words are commonly confused with "brash"?
"brash" is commonly confused with "bush", "bros", "bruh". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "brash"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "brash" is /bɹæʃ/. 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 "brash"?
Uncertain. Perhaps from Scots brash, brasch (“a violent onset; an attack or assault”). Perhaps also related to Dutch bars (“stern; strict”), German barsch (“harsh; unfriendly”), Danish barsk (“harsh; rough; tough”), Swedish barsk (“harsh; impetuou... 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 "brash", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

boyer#30,708chimp#30,731all's#30,679adage#30,675

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Bourke8 variantsbalboa8 variantsCassius8 variantscayenne8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list