hara-kiri
/ˌhæɹəˈkɪɹi/
"hara-kiri" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hara-kiri” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Ceremonial suicide by disembowelment, as by slicing open the abdomen with a dagger or knife: formerly practised in Japan by the samurai when disgraced or sentenced to death.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hara-kiri |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌhæɹəˈkɪɹi/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hara-kiri” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
hara-kiri is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌhæɹəˈkɪɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for hara-kiri in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Japanese 腹切り (harakiri), ultimately from 腹 (hara, “belly”) + 切る (kiru, “to cut”). The correct English form is hara-kiri, spelled H-A-R-A---K-I-R-I.
Definition
- 1Ceremonial suicide by disembowelment, as by slicing open the abdomen with a dagger or knife: formerly practised in Japan by the samurai when disgraced or sentenced to death.
- 2Suicide or any suicidal action.
- 3An act against one's own interests.
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 腹切り (harakiri), ultimately from 腹 (hara, “belly”) + 切る (kiru, “to cut”).
Synonyms
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “hara-kiri”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-A-R-A---K-I-R-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌhæɹəˈkɪɹi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.