Bugis

/ˈbuːɡɪs/

//ˈbuːɡɪs// name

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

The verdict

“Bugis” is uncommon English (frequency #96,813 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#96,813
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A member of a people of southern Sulawesi.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bugis · Bugis · English

Bugis · rank #96,813 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #96,813
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bufo

Nearest frequency peer: bufo (-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 “Bugis”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Bugis
PropertyValue
HeadwordBugis
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈbuːɡɪs/
Letters5
Frequency rank#96,813
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Bugis” 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).Bugisfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “bufo” (#96,812), “Bukharin” (#96,814), “Brunetti” (#96,809). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “Bugis” is #96,813. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Bugis is uncommon English at frequency #96,813 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ˈbuːɡɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for Bugis, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Malay Bugis, from Makasar ᨅᨘᨁᨗᨔᨗ (Bugisi'), probably from Proto-South Sulawesi **Bugis or Buginese ᨓᨘᨁᨗ (Wugi'), ᨕᨘᨁᨗ (Ugi'), ᨕᨚᨁᨗ (Ogi') (a self-designation). Cognate with Mandar Bugis, Toraja-Sa'dan Bugi'. The correct English form is Bugis, spelled B-U-G-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A member of a people of southern Sulawesi.
  2. 2
    The Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by these people.
  3. 3
    A district in central Singapore, around a street of the same name.

Etymology

From Malay Bugis, from Makasar ᨅᨘᨁᨗᨔᨗ (Bugisi'), probably from Proto-South Sulawesi **Bugis or Buginese ᨓᨘᨁᨗ (Wugi'), ᨕᨘᨁᨗ (Ugi'), ᨕᨚᨁᨗ (Ogi') (a self-designation). Cognate with Mandar Bugis, Toraja-Sa'dan Bugi'.

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 "Bugis"?
"Bugis" is spelled B-U-G-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbuːɡɪs/.
What does "Bugis" mean?
As a proper noun, "Bugis" means: A member of a people of southern Sulawesi.
How do you pronounce "Bugis"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Bugis" is /ˈbuːɡɪs/. 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 "Bugis"?
From Malay Bugis, from Makasar ᨅᨘᨁᨗᨔᨗ (Bugisi'), probably from Proto-South Sulawesi **Bugis or Buginese ᨓᨘᨁᨗ (Wugi'), ᨕᨘᨁᨗ (Ugi'), ᨕᨚᨁᨗ (Ogi') (a self-designation). Cognate with Mandar Bugis, Toraja-Sa'dan Bugi'. 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 "Bugis", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list