ghazal

/ˈɡæzæl/

//ˈɡæzæl// noun

"ghazal" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ghazal” is uncommon English (frequency #74,120 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#74,120
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A poetic form mostly used for love poetry in Middle Eastern, South, and Central Asian poetry.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ghazal · ghazal · English

ghazal · rank #74,120 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #74,120
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH GGS

Nearest frequency peer: GGS (-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 “ghazal”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ghazal
PropertyValue
Headwordghazal
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡæzæl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#74,120
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “ghazal” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).ghazalfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “GGS” (#74,119), “gazzetta” (#74,117), “Giraud” (#74,124). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “ghazal” is #74,120. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

ghazal is uncommon English at frequency #74,120 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɡæzæl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A poetic form mostly used for love poetry in Middle Eastern, South, and Central Asian poetry.".

Zero misspellings are on record for ghazal in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Arabic غَزَل (ḡazal, “to display love to the loved one via speech, to exchange talk of love with the loved one”). The correct English form is ghazal, spelled G-H-A-Z-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A poetic form mostly used for love poetry in Middle Eastern, South, and Central Asian poetry.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Indeed, this is a realm where colors harmoniously recite magnificent ghazals to each other, where time stops, where the Devil never appears.
  2. A poet could explain him to himself but he was a soldier and had no place to go for ghazals or odes.

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic غَزَل (ḡazal, “to display love to the loved one via speech, to exchange talk of love with the loved one”).

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); 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 "ghazal"?
"ghazal" is spelled G-H-A-Z-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡæzæl/.
What does "ghazal" mean?
As a noun, "ghazal" means: A poetic form mostly used for love poetry in Middle Eastern, South, and Central Asian poetry.
How do you pronounce "ghazal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ghazal" is /ˈɡæzæl/. 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 "ghazal"?
Borrowed from Arabic غَزَل (ḡazal, “to display love to the loved one via speech, to exchange talk of love with the loved one”). 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 "ghazal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list