jiao

/dʒjaʊ/

//dʒjaʊ// noun

"jiao" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“jiao” is uncommon English (frequency #63,721 among 796 “J” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,721
frequency rank, English
796
“J” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A currency unit of the People's Republic of China, one tenth of a yuan.

Corpus desk

Index EN-jiao · jiao · English

jiao · rank #63,721 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #63,721
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 796
  • PHOTO-FINISH Jenkin

Nearest frequency peer: Jenkin (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “jiao”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for jiao
PropertyValue
Headwordjiao
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dʒjaʊ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#63,721
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “jiao” in English

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Jenkin” (#63,720), “Jonesy” (#63,722), “jebel” (#63,719). Among 796 “J” headwords, “jiao” is #63,721. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

jiao is uncommon English at frequency #63,721 among 796 “J” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /dʒjaʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A currency unit of the People's Republic of China, one tenth of a yuan.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for jiao, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Mandarin 角 (jiǎo). Doublet of kak. The correct English form is jiao, spelled J-I-A-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A currency unit of the People's Republic of China, one tenth of a yuan.

Etymology

Borrowed from Mandarin 角 (jiǎo). Doublet of kak.

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 "jiao"?
"jiao" is spelled J-I-A-O. The IPA pronunciation is /dʒjaʊ/.
What does "jiao" mean?
As a noun, "jiao" means: A currency unit of the People's Republic of China, one tenth of a yuan.
How do you pronounce "jiao"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "jiao" is /dʒjaʊ/. 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 "jiao"?
Borrowed from Mandarin 角 (jiǎo). Doublet of kak. 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 "jiao", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list