jota

/ˈhoʊtə/

//ˈhoʊtə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“jota” is uncommon English (frequency #78,738 among 796 “J” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,738
frequency rank, English
796
“J” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A traditional popular dance of the Iberian peninsula with regional variations.

Corpus desk

Index EN-jota · jota · English

jota · rank #78,738 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #78,738
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 796
  • PHOTO-FINISH kanga

Nearest frequency peer: kanga (+5 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 “jota”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for jota
PropertyValue
Headwordjota
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhoʊtə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#78,738
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “jota” in English

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).jotafalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “kanga” (#78,743), “Jabalpur” (#78,730), “kayser” (#78,748). Among 796 “J” headwords, “jota” is #78,738. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

jota is uncommon English at frequency #78,738 among 796 “J” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈhoʊtə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

jota has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Spanish jota. The correct English form is jota, spelled J-O-T-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A traditional popular dance of the Iberian peninsula with regional variations.
  2. 2
    The music to which this dance is set, normally of 3/4 or 6/8 time.

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish jota.

This word in other languages

jota(Español)jota(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 "jota"?
"jota" is spelled J-O-T-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhoʊtə/.
What does "jota" mean?
As a noun, "jota" means: A traditional popular dance of the Iberian peninsula with regional variations.
How do you pronounce "jota"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "jota" is /ˈhoʊtə/. 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 "jota"?
Borrowed from Spanish jota. 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 "jota", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

laze#78,774luan#78,794Masi#78,808gari#78,624

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list