Hanukkah

/ˈhæ.nə.kə/

//ˈhæ.nə.kə// name

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

"hanukkah" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Hanukkah” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,876. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,876
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
10
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An eight-day Jewish festival, starting on the 25th day of Kislev, which commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after the victory of the Maccabees over the Greek Syrians.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hanukkah · Hanukkah · English

Hanukkah · rank #38,876 · 10 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #38,876
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hardball

Nearest frequency peer: hardball (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Hanukkah”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Hanukkah” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Hanukkah
PropertyValue
HeadwordHanukkah
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈhæ.nə.kə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#38,876
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Hanukkah”

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).Hanukkahlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “hardball” (#38,877), “H1N1” (#38,874), “Gunter” (#38,873). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “Hanukkah” is #38,876. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around Hanukkah (IPA /ˈhæ.nə.kə/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #38,876 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Dominant gloss: "An eight-day Jewish festival, starting on the 25th day of Kislev, which commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after the victory of the Maccabees over the Greek Syrians.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for Hanukkah, with forms such as "ahnukkah", "hankukah", and "hannukkah". 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. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Originated 1890–95. From Hebrew חנוכה / חֲנֻכָּה (khanuká, “dedication, consecration”) from חָנַךְ (khanákh, “to dedicate, to consecrate”). The correct English form is Hanukkah, spelled H-A-N-U-K-K-A-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    An eight-day Jewish festival, starting on the 25th day of Kislev, which commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after the victory of the Maccabees over the Greek Syrians.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Rebecca and Roni Kopelman have been celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah since they got together in 2006, building the foundations of an interfaith household.

Etymology

Originated 1890–95. From Hebrew חנוכה / חֲנֻכָּה (khanuká, “dedication, consecration”) from חָנַךְ (khanákh, “to dedicate, to consecrate”).

Synonyms

Feast of DedicationFeast of LightsFestival of Lights

This word in other languages

Jánuca(Español)Hanoukka(Français)Chanukka(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ahnukkah
  • hankukah
  • hannukkah
  • hanukah
  • hanukakh
  • hanukkahh
  • hanukkha
  • haunkkah
  • hhanukkah
  • hnaukkah

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Hanukkah - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ahnukkah2hankukah2hannukkah1hanukah1hanukakh2hanukkahh1hanukkha2haunkkah2
Edit distance from "Hanukkah"

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 "Hanukkah"?
"Hanukkah" is spelled H-A-N-U-K-K-A-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhæ.nə.kə/.
What does "Hanukkah" mean?
As a proper noun, "Hanukkah" means: An eight-day Jewish festival, starting on the 25th day of Kislev, which commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after the victory of the Maccabees over the Greek Syrians.
What are common misspellings of "Hanukkah"?
Common misspellings include "ahnukkah", "hankukah", "hannukkah", "hanukah", "hanukakh". The correct spelling is "Hanukkah".
How do you pronounce "Hanukkah"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Hanukkah" is /ˈhæ.nə.kə/. 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 "Hanukkah"?
Originated 1890–95. From Hebrew חנוכה / חֲנֻכָּה (khanuká, “dedication, consecration”) from חָנַךְ (khanákh, “to dedicate, to consecrate”). 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 "Hanukkah", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hardball#38,877Harriman#38,879hibiscus#38,885Goodrich#38,864

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Formosa10 variantsfeuding10 variantsChippewa10 variantsMoorish10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list