Joshua

/ˈd͡ʒɒʃ(j)ʊə/

//ˈd͡ʒɒʃ(j)ʊə// name

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

"joshua" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Joshua” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,054. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,054
frequency rank, English
796
“J” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The sixth book of the Old Testament of the Bible, and a book of the Tanakh.

Corpus desk

Index EN-joshua · Joshua · English

Joshua · rank #8,054 · 8 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,054
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 796
  • PHOTO-FINISH joey

Nearest frequency peer: joey (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Joshua”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Joshua” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

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).

Joshua vs Josh
67% similar
Joshua vs joshi
50% similar

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

Key facts for Joshua
PropertyValue
HeadwordJoshua
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈd͡ʒɒʃ(j)ʊə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#8,054
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Joshua”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Joshualands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “joey” (#8,053), “Jamaica” (#8,052), “leisure” (#8,056). Among 796 “J” headwords, “Joshua” is #8,054. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around Joshua (IPA /ˈd͡ʒɒʃ(j)ʊə/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #8,054 among 796 “J” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Joshua, with forms such as "jjoshua", "johsua", and "joshau". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Josh", "joshi", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Biblical Hebrew יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshúa'), perhaps from הוֹשֵׁעַ (Hoshéa') with addition of יהוה (YHWH, “Yahweh”), thus meaning "Yahweh is salvation". See הוֹשִׁיעַ (hoshía', “to save”). By cognate a direct equivalent to Jesus via Latin Iēsūs and Ancient … The correct English form is Joshua, spelled J-O-S-H-U-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    The sixth book of the Old Testament of the Bible, and a book of the Tanakh.
  2. 2
    The son of Nun, Judge of Israel following Moses; author of the Book of Joshua; Quranic figure.
  3. 3
    A male given name from Hebrew.
  4. 4
    A surname, transferred from the given name
  5. 5
    A city in Johnson County, Texas, United States, named after the biblical Joshua.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.
  2. "His father had a notion," observes Malone, on the authority of Dr. Percy, Bishop of Dromore, "that it might at some future period of his life be an advantage to a child to bear an uncommon Christian name, - - - Hence our author derived the scriptural name of Joshua, which, though not very uncommon, occurs less frequently than many others." But another bi…

Etymology

From Biblical Hebrew יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshúa'), perhaps from הוֹשֵׁעַ (Hoshéa') with addition of יהוה (YHWH, “Yahweh”), thus meaning "Yahweh is salvation". See הוֹשִׁיעַ (hoshía', “to save”). By cognate a direct equivalent to Jesus via Latin Iēsūs and Ancient Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs) from Aramaic יֵשׁוּע (Yēšū́ʿ), akin to Hebrew יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshúa'), a variant of Yehoshúa'. The Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible and the Greek New Testament consistently render the two Hebrew names Yehoshúa' (whence Joshua) and Yeshúa' (whence Jeshua) into Koine Greek as Iēsoûs (whence Jesus).

This word in other languages

Josué(Español)Josué(Français)Josua(Deutsch)Josué(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • jjoshua
  • johsua
  • joshau
  • joshhua
  • josshua
  • josuha
  • jsohua
  • ojshua

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Joshua - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

jjoshua1johsua2joshau2joshhua1josshua1josuha2jsohua2ojshua2
Edit distance from "Joshua"

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 "Joshua"?
"Joshua" is spelled J-O-S-H-U-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈd͡ʒɒʃ(j)ʊə/.
What does "Joshua" mean?
As a proper noun, "Joshua" means: The sixth book of the Old Testament of the Bible, and a book of the Tanakh.
What words are commonly confused with "Joshua"?
"Joshua" is commonly confused with "Josh", "joshi". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Joshua"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Joshua" is /ˈd͡ʒɒʃ(j)ʊə/. 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 "Joshua"?
From Biblical Hebrew יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshúa'), perhaps from הוֹשֵׁעַ (Hoshéa') with addition of יהוה (YHWH, “Yahweh”), thus meaning "Yahweh is salvation". See הוֹשִׁיעַ (hoshía', “to save”). By cognate a direct equivalent to Jesus via Latin Iēsūs an... 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 "Joshua", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

lounge#8,060impose#8,047hooked#8,045heroin#8,043

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

fierce8 variantspolite8 variantsexceed8 variantsrandy8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list