dango

noun

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

The verdict

“dango” is uncommon English (frequency #97,995 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#97,995
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A Japanese dumpling made from mochiko (rice flour).

Corpus desk

Index EN-dango · dango · English

dango · rank #97,995 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #97,995
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH dartboard

Nearest frequency peer: dartboard (+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 “dango”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for dango
PropertyValue
Headworddango
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters5
Frequency rank#97,995
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “dango” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).dangofalls 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: “dartboard” (#97,996), “Dair” (#97,993), “dago” (#97,992). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dango” is #97,995. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

dango is uncommon English at frequency #97,995 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A Japanese dumpling made from mochiko (rice flour).".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for dango, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. 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: Borrowed from Japanese 団子 (dango). The correct English form is dango, spelled D-A-N-G-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A Japanese dumpling made from mochiko (rice flour).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. On a given day he went to the parental home of his bride to inquire after the health of the family, when they gave him some dango (dumplings) to eat.
  2. Dango are related to mochi in that both are made from glutinous rice flour. Dango, however, tend to be dense, sticky, and not stuffed with fillings.

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 団子 (dango).

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 "dango"?
"dango" is spelled D-A-N-G-O.
What does "dango" mean?
As a noun, "dango" means: A Japanese dumpling made from mochiko (rice flour).
What is the origin of the word "dango"?
Borrowed from Japanese 団子 (dango). 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 "dango", 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