kaddish

/ˈkædɪʃ/

//ˈkædɪʃ// noun

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

"kaddish" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“kaddish” is uncommon English (frequency #97,181 among 1,236 “K” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#97,181
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A Jewish prayer of praise to God recited during services, and specifically when mourning the death of a close relative.

Corpus desk

Index EN-kaddish · kaddish · English

kaddish · rank #97,181 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #97,181
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH Kafkaesque

Nearest frequency peer: Kafkaesque (+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 “kaddish”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for kaddish
PropertyValue
Headwordkaddish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkædɪʃ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#97,181
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “kaddish” 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).kaddishfalls 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: “Kafkaesque” (#97,182), “Kaila” (#97,183), “Kalish” (#97,184). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “kaddish” is #97,181. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

kaddish is uncommon English at frequency #97,181 among 1,236 “K” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkædɪʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A Jewish prayer of praise to God recited during services, and specifically when mourning the death of a close relative.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for kaddish in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Hebrew קַדִּישׁ (kadish, “kaddish”), from Aramaic קַדִּישׁ (qaddīš, “holy; holy person”). Doublet of kiddush. The plural form kaddishim is borrowed from Hebrew קַדִּישׁים (kadishim). The correct English form is kaddish, spelled K-A-D-D-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A Jewish prayer of praise to God recited during services, and specifically when mourning the death of a close relative.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. O, my Father: ancient, hallowed Lonely, disappointed Father: Betrayed and rejected Ruler of the Universe: Angry, wrinkled Old Majesty: I want to pray I want to say Kaddish My own Kaddish. There may be No one to say it after me
  2. So context me no contexts, analyse me no analyses, suspend your partially informed diagnoses; leave off your strenuous efforts at even-handedness. Let us be, to grieve, rage, weep; say the mourners' kaddish.

Etymology

Borrowed from Hebrew קַדִּישׁ (kadish, “kaddish”), from Aramaic קַדִּישׁ (qaddīš, “holy; holy person”). Doublet of kiddush. The plural form kaddishim is borrowed from Hebrew קַדִּישׁים (kadishim).

This word in other languages

kadish(Español)kaddish(Français)Kaddisch(Deutsch)

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 "kaddish"?
"kaddish" is spelled K-A-D-D-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkædɪʃ/.
What does "kaddish" mean?
As a noun, "kaddish" means: A Jewish prayer of praise to God recited during services, and specifically when mourning the death of a close relative.
How do you pronounce "kaddish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kaddish" is /ˈkædɪʃ/. 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 "kaddish"?
Borrowed from Hebrew קַדִּישׁ (kadish, “kaddish”), from Aramaic קַדִּישׁ (qaddīš, “holy; holy person”). Doublet of kiddush. The plural form kaddishim is borrowed from Hebrew קַדִּישׁים (kadishim). 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 "kaddish", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Kaneohe#97,185kiloton#97,199Kovacic#97,209ingrate#97,141

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list