# guru

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɡʊɹuː/ · frequency rank #9,340

## Definitions
1. In Indian traditions: a spiritual teacher who transmits knowledge to a shishya.
2. Any general teacher (as a term of respect).
3. An influential advisor or mentor.
4. A fraudster or conman relying on a projected air of confidence in an obscure field.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Hindi गुरु (guru) / Punjabi ਗੁਰੂ (gurū), from Sanskrit गुरु (guru, “venerable, respectable”), originally "heavy" and in this sense cognate to English grieve and, more distantly, brute. Doublet of grave. A traditional, though flawed etymology based on the Advayataraka Upanishad (line 16) describes the syllables gu as “darkness” and ru as “destroyer”, thus ascribing the meaning of “one who destroys/dispels darkness” to the word.

## Easily confused with
- **guy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/guru-vs-guy)
- **gut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/guru-vs-gut)
- **Gus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/guru-vs-gus)
- **guys** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/guru-vs-guys)
- **guts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/guru-vs-guts)
- **gust** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/guru-vs-gust)
- **gyro** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/guru-vs-gyro)
- **gush** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/guru-vs-gush)
- **gurus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/guru-vs-gurus)
- **GR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gr-vs-guru)
- **GU** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gu-vs-guru)
- **gun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gun-vs-guru)
- **gum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gum-vs-guru)
- **GUI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gui-vs-guru)
- **GPU** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gpu-vs-guru)
- **ger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ger-vs-guru)
- **Guo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/guo-vs-guru)
- **GNU** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gnu-vs-guru)
- **gar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gar-vs-guru)
- **GRE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/gre-vs-guru)

## Common misspellings (5)
`gguru`, `gruu`, `gurru`, `guur`, `ugru`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/guru