cassava
/kəˈsɑː.və/
"cassava" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cassava” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #36,917 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #36,917
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Manioc (Manihot esculenta), a tropical plant which is the source of tapioca.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cassava |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kəˈsɑː.və/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #36,917 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cassava” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for cassava is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kəˈsɑː.və/. Corpus data places it at rank #36,917 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for cassava, with forms such as "acssava", "casasva", and "casava". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Spanish cazabe, from Taíno *kasabi (“cassava flour”) (whence Garifuna sibiba), from Proto-Arawak *sapi. The correct English form is cassava, spelled C-A-S-S-A-V-A.
Definition
- 1Manioc (Manihot esculenta), a tropical plant which is the source of tapioca.
- 2The root of this plant.
- 3Tapioca, a starchy pulp made with manioc roots.
Etymology
Borrowed from Spanish cazabe, from Taíno *kasabi (“cassava flour”) (whence Garifuna sibiba), from Proto-Arawak *sapi.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: acssava,casasva,casava,cassaav,cassavva,cassvaa,ccassava,csasava
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cassava - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "cassava"?
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Using “cassava”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-S-S-A-V-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kəˈsɑː.və/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.