iwi

/ˈiːwi/

//ˈiːwi// noun

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

"iwi" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“iwi” is uncommon English (frequency #78,727 among 2,140 “I” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,727
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An extended group of Maori kin groups or families, sharing common ancestry; a tribe. (An iwi is smaller than a waka and larger than a hapu.)

Corpus desk

Index EN-iwi · iwi · English

iwi · rank #78,727 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #78,727
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH Jabalpur

Nearest frequency peer: Jabalpur (+3 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 “iwi”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for iwi
PropertyValue
Headwordiwi
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈiːwi/
Letters3
Frequency rank#78,727
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “iwi” 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).iwifalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Jabalpur” (#78,730), “Inverclyde” (#78,720), “interjection” (#78,718). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “iwi” is #78,727. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

iwi is uncommon English at frequency #78,727 among 2,140 “I” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈiːwi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An extended group of Maori kin groups or families, sharing common ancestry; a tribe. (An iwi is smaller than a waka and larger than a hapu.)".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for iwi, 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, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Māori iwi (literally “bone”), ultimately from Proto-Austronesian *duʀi (“thorn”). Doublet of durian, from Malay. The correct English form is iwi, spelled I-W-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    An extended group of Maori kin groups or families, sharing common ancestry; a tribe. (An iwi is smaller than a waka and larger than a hapu.)

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Through her, the women of my iwi are also beautiful, strong and powerful.
  2. Ngati Porou and the related iwi Ngāti Kahungunu were major tribes down the East Coast of the North Island.

Etymology

Borrowed from Māori iwi (literally “bone”), ultimately from Proto-Austronesian *duʀi (“thorn”). Doublet of durian, from Malay.

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 "iwi"?
"iwi" is spelled I-W-I. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈiːwi/.
What does "iwi" mean?
As a noun, "iwi" means: An extended group of Maori kin groups or families, sharing common ancestry; a tribe. (An iwi is smaller than a waka and larger than a hapu.)
How do you pronounce "iwi"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "iwi" is /ˈiːwi/. 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 "iwi"?
Borrowed from Māori iwi (literally “bone”), ultimately from Proto-Austronesian *duʀi (“thorn”). Doublet of durian, from Malay. 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 "iwi", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

LGM#78,782LTM#78,793Gbe#78,626fod#78,604

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list