bupkis
/ˈbʌp.kɪs/
"bupkis" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bupkis” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Absolutely nothing; nothing of value, significance, or substance.
Corpus desk
Index EN-bupkis · bupkis · English
bupkis · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bupkis |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbʌp.kɪs/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “bupkis” in English
Rare enough to double-check
bupkis is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbʌp.kɪs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Absolutely nothing; nothing of value, significance, or substance.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for bupkis, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. 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 prior to 1931 from Yiddish באָבקעס (bobkes), plural of באָבקע (bobke, “goat or sheep dropping”), from באָב (bob, “bean”) + ־קע (-ke) calquing Polish bobek (“oval-shaped turd”), ultimately from Proto-Slavic *bobъ (“bean, fava bean”). Popularized by … The correct English form is bupkis, spelled B-U-P-K-I-S.
Definition
- 1Absolutely nothing; nothing of value, significance, or substance.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how bupkis appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
We searched for hours and found bupkis.
But we did nothing, absolutely bupkis that day / And I say, what the hell am I doing drinking in L.A. at 26?
Etymology
Borrowed prior to 1931 from Yiddish באָבקעס (bobkes), plural of באָבקע (bobke, “goat or sheep dropping”), from באָב (bob, “bean”) + ־קע (-ke) calquing Polish bobek (“oval-shaped turd”), ultimately from Proto-Slavic *bobъ (“bean, fava bean”). Popularized by American Jewish writer Sam Denoff in mid-1960s The Dick Van Dyke Show.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.