jar

/dʒɑː/

//dʒɑː// noun

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

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

The verdict

“jar” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #7,934) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#7,934
frequency rank, English
796
“J” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An earthenware container, either with two or no handles, for holding oil, water, wine, etc., or used for burial.

Corpus desk

Index EN-jar · jar · English

jar · rank #7,934 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,934
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 796
  • PHOTO-FINISH Isaac

Nearest frequency peer: Isaac (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “jar”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “jar” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

jar vs Jr
33% similar
jar vs jo
33% similar
jar vs JI
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for jar
PropertyValue
Headwordjar
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dʒɑː/
Letters3
Frequency rank#7,934
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “jar”

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).jarlands 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 “Isaac” (#7,933), “kay” (#7,935), “incoming” (#7,932). Among 796 “J” headwords, “jar” is #7,934. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for jar is neighbouring look-alikes ("Jr", "jo", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /dʒɑː/. Frequency #7,934 among 796 “J” headwords. 5 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for jar, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Jr", "jo", "JI", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English jarre (“jar”), from Medieval Latin jarra, or from Middle French jarre (“liquid measure”) (from Old French jare; modern French jarre (“earthenware jar”)), or from Spanish jarra, jarro (“jug, pitcher; mug, stein”), all from Arabi… The correct English form is jar, spelled J-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    An earthenware container, either with two or no handles, for holding oil, water, wine, etc., or used for burial.
  2. 2
    A small, approximately cylindrical container, normally made of clay or glass, for holding fruit, preserves, etc., or for ornamental purposes.
  3. 3
    A container and its contents; as much as fills such a container; a jarful.
  4. 4
    A pint glass
  5. 5
    A glass of beer or cider, served by the pint.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. She refilled the jar with peanuts today evening.
  2. As I was going over the far fam'd Kerry mountain / I met with Captain Farrell [a]nd his money he was counting, / I first produced my pistol and I then produced my rapier, / Sayin', "Stand and deliver for you are my bold deceiver,["] / O, Whack fol the diddle, / O, Whack fol the diddle, / O, There's whiskey in the jar / O, Whack fol the diddle, / O, Whack…

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English jarre (“jar”), from Medieval Latin jarra, or from Middle French jarre (“liquid measure”) (from Old French jare; modern French jarre (“earthenware jar”)), or from Spanish jarra, jarro (“jug, pitcher; mug, stein”), all from Arabic جَرَّة (jarra, “earthen receptacle”). The word is cognate with Italian giara (“jar; crock”), Occitan jarro, Portuguese jarra, jarro (“jug; ewer, pitcher”). The verb is derived from the noun.

This word in other languages

tarro(Español)jarre(Français)Krug(Deutsch)jarro(Português)

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 "jar"?
"jar" is spelled J-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /dʒɑː/.
What does "jar" mean?
As a noun, "jar" means: An earthenware container, either with two or no handles, for holding oil, water, wine, etc., or used for burial.
What words are commonly confused with "jar"?
"jar" is commonly confused with "Jr", "jo", "JI". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "jar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "jar" is /dʒɑː/. 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 "jar"?
Inherited from Middle English jarre (“jar”), from Medieval Latin jarra, or from Middle French jarre (“liquid measure”) (from Old French jare; modern French jarre (“earthenware jar”)), or from Spanish jarra, jarro (“jug, pitcher; mug, stein”), all ... 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 "jar", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

kay#7,935IBM#7,927han#7,925PAC#7,954

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list