Honolulu

/ˌhoʊ.nəˈluː.luː/

//ˌhoʊ.nəˈluː.luː// name

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

The verdict

“Honolulu” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #14,963. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#14,963
frequency rank, English
23,837
“H” headwords
11
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A port on Oahu Island, the capital city of the state of Hawaii in the United States of America.

Key facts for Honolulu
PropertyValue
HeadwordHonolulu
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˌhoʊ.nəˈluː.luː/
Letters8
Frequency rank#14,963
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Honolulu” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Honolulu lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around Honolulu (IPA /ˌhoʊ.nəˈluː.luː/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #14,963 among 23,837 “H” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A port on Oahu Island, the capital city of the state of Hawaii in the United States of America.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Honolulu, with forms such as "hhonolulu", "hnoolulu", and "honloulu". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Hawaiian Honolulu, from hono (“bay, harbor” – cognate with Māori whanga) + lulu (“shelter” – cognate with Māori ruru); see also toponym Whangaruru in North Island, New Zealand. The correct English form is Honolulu, spelled H-O-N-O-L-U-L-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    A port on Oahu Island, the capital city of the state of Hawaii in the United States of America.

Etymology

From Hawaiian Honolulu, from hono (“bay, harbor” – cognate with Māori whanga) + lulu (“shelter” – cognate with Māori ruru); see also toponym Whangaruru in North Island, New Zealand.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: hhonolulu,hnoolulu,honloulu,honnolulu,honollulu,honolluu,honolullu,honoluul,honoullu,hoonlulu,ohnolulu

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Honolulu - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hhonolulu1hnoolulu2honloulu2honnolulu1honollulu1honolluu2honolullu1honoluul2
Edit distance from "Honolulu"

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 "Honolulu"?
"Honolulu" is spelled H-O-N-O-L-U-L-U. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌhoʊ.nəˈluː.luː/.
What does "Honolulu" mean?
As a proper noun, "Honolulu" means: A port on Oahu Island, the capital city of the state of Hawaii in the United States of America.
What are common misspellings of "Honolulu"?
Common misspellings include "hhonolulu", "hnoolulu", "honloulu", "honnolulu", "honollulu". The correct spelling is "Honolulu".
How do you pronounce "Honolulu"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Honolulu" is /ˌhoʊ.nəˈluː.luː/. 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 "Honolulu"?
From Hawaiian Honolulu, from hono (“bay, harbor” – cognate with Māori whanga) + lulu (“shelter” – cognate with Māori ruru); see also toponym Whangaruru in North Island, New Zealand. 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.

Using “Honolulu”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is H-O-N-O-L-U-L-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˌhoʊ.nəˈluː.luː/ (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

Same frequency band

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list