canna

/ˈkænə/

//ˈkænə// noun

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

The verdict

“canna” is uncommon English (frequency #53,425 among 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,425
frequency rank, English
43,570
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any member of the genus Canna of tropical plants with large leaves and often showy flowers.

Corpus desk

Index EN-canna · canna · English

canna · rank #53,425 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #53,425
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 43,570
  • PHOTO-FINISH Calabasas

Nearest frequency peer: Calabasas (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “canna”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “canna” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for canna
PropertyValue
Headwordcanna
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkænə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#53,425
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “canna” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

canna is uncommon English at frequency #53,425 among 43,570 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkænə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Any member of the genus Canna of tropical plants with large leaves and often showy flowers.".

canna doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from translingual Canna, from Latin canna (“reed”), from Ancient Greek κᾰ́ννᾱ (kắnnā, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒂵𒉡𒌑𒌝 (qanûm). Cognates Biblical Hebrew קָנֶה (qané), Aramaic קַנְיָא (qanyā), Classical Syriac ܩܢܝܐ (qanya), and English canon, cannon,… The correct English form is canna, spelled C-A-N-N-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any member of the genus Canna of tropical plants with large leaves and often showy flowers.

Etymology

Borrowed from translingual Canna, from Latin canna (“reed”), from Ancient Greek κᾰ́ννᾱ (kắnnā, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒂵𒉡𒌑𒌝 (qanûm). Cognates Biblical Hebrew קָנֶה (qané), Aramaic קַנְיָא (qanyā), Classical Syriac ܩܢܝܐ (qanya), and English canon, cannon, canal, and channel. Doublet of cane and kaneh.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "canna"?
"canna" is spelled C-A-N-N-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkænə/.
What does "canna" mean?
As a noun, "canna" means: Any member of the genus Canna of tropical plants with large leaves and often showy flowers.
How do you pronounce "canna"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "canna" is /ˈkænə/. 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 "canna"?
Borrowed from translingual Canna, from Latin canna (“reed”), from Ancient Greek κᾰ́ννᾱ (kắnnā, “reed”), from Akkadian 𒂵𒉡𒌑𒌝 (qanûm). Cognates Biblical Hebrew קָנֶה (qané), Aramaic קַנְיָא (qanyā), Classical Syriac ܩܢܝܐ (qanya), and English cano... 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 "canna", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list