Davao
/ˈda.vaʊ̯/
"davao" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Davao” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #29,990 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #29,990
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 19
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A former province of Mindanao, Philippines.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Davao |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈda.vaʊ̯/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #29,990 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 19 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Davao” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Davao is 5 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈda.vaʊ̯/. Corpus data places it at rank #29,990 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 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for Davao, with forms such as "advao", "daavo", and "davoa". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 19 confusable-pair relationships, "Dave", "diva", "Davy", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Spanish Dávao, from Giangan Dawaw. The correct English form is Davao, spelled D-A-V-A-O.
Definition
- 1A former province of Mindanao, Philippines.
- 2Davao City (a city in the Davao Region, Mindanao, Philippines).
- 3Davao Region (a region of Mindanao, Philippines).
Etymology
From Spanish Dávao, from Giangan Dawaw.
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: advao,daavo,davoa,davvao,ddavao,dvaao
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Davao - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "Davao"?
What does "Davao" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Davao"?
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Using “Davao”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-A-V-A-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈda.vaʊ̯/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Dave” - see the side-by-side comparison. Davao vs Dave
- 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.