Gurkha

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“Gurkha” is uncommon English (frequency #70,724 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,724
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A member of the dominant ethnic group in Nepal, with a Himalayan diaspora.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gurkha · Gurkha · English

Gurkha · rank #70,724 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #70,724
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH gunfighter

Nearest frequency peer: gunfighter (-2 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 “Gurkha”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Gurkha
PropertyValue
HeadwordGurkha
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters6
Frequency rank#70,724
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Gurkha” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Gurkhafalls 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: “gunfighter” (#70,722), “Guterres” (#70,726), “gwan” (#70,727). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “Gurkha” is #70,724. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Gurkha is uncommon English at frequency #70,724 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Gurkha doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Nepali गोर्खा (gorkhā, “inhabitant of Gorkha”), from गोरखा (gorakhā)/गोर्खा (gorkhā, “Gorkha District”), from Sanskrit गोरक्ष (gorakṣa, “cowherd”) an epithet of the patron deity Gorakhnath, from गो (go, “cow”) + रक्ष् (rakṣ, “protect”). The correct English form is Gurkha, spelled G-U-R-K-H-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A member of the dominant ethnic group in Nepal, with a Himalayan diaspora.
  2. 2
    A member of this people recruited to serve in their own elite units in the British and Indian armies.

Etymology

From Nepali गोर्खा (gorkhā, “inhabitant of Gorkha”), from गोरखा (gorakhā)/गोर्खा (gorkhā, “Gorkha District”), from Sanskrit गोरक्ष (gorakṣa, “cowherd”) an epithet of the patron deity Gorakhnath, from गो (go, “cow”) + रक्ष् (rakṣ, “protect”).

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 "Gurkha"?
"Gurkha" is spelled G-U-R-K-H-A.
What does "Gurkha" mean?
As a noun, "Gurkha" means: A member of the dominant ethnic group in Nepal, with a Himalayan diaspora.
What is the origin of the word "Gurkha"?
From Nepali गोर्खा (gorkhā, “inhabitant of Gorkha”), from गोरखा (gorakhā)/गोर्खा (gorkhā, “Gorkha District”), from Sanskrit गोरक्ष (gorakṣa, “cowherd”) an epithet of the patron deity Gorakhnath, from गो (go, “cow”) + रक्ष् (rakṣ, “protect”). 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 "Gurkha", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Hesiod#70,742hoeing#70,749husker#70,758furred#70,683

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list