kahuna

/kəˈhuːnə/

//kəˈhuːnə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“kahuna” is uncommon English (frequency #76,905 among 1,236 “K” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#76,905
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A priest or priestess of the traditional Hawaiian religion.

Corpus desk

Index EN-kahuna · kahuna · English

kahuna · rank #76,905 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #76,905
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH kagome

Nearest frequency peer: kagome (-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 “kahuna”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for kahuna
PropertyValue
Headwordkahuna
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəˈhuːnə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#76,905
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “kahuna” in English

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).kahunafalls 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: “kagome” (#76,904), “kairos” (#76,906), “Kaushal” (#76,908). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “kahuna” is #76,905. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

kahuna is uncommon English at frequency #76,905 among 1,236 “K” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /kəˈhuːnə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

kahuna doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Hawaiian kahuna (“shaman, wizard”). The correct English form is kahuna, spelled K-A-H-U-N-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A priest or priestess of the traditional Hawaiian religion.
  2. 2
    A great surfer.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. They were kāhuna, practitioners of the old Hawaiian religion, apparently offering themselves as sacrifices to appease the gods so that the queen would be restored.

Etymology

Borrowed from Hawaiian kahuna (“shaman, wizard”).

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 "kahuna"?
"kahuna" is spelled K-A-H-U-N-A. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈhuːnə/.
What does "kahuna" mean?
As a noun, "kahuna" means: A priest or priestess of the traditional Hawaiian religion.
How do you pronounce "kahuna"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kahuna" is /kəˈhuːnə/. 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 "kahuna"?
Borrowed from Hawaiian kahuna (“shaman, wizard”). 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 "kahuna", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

kagome#76,904kairos#76,906kennet#76,913jerker#76,896

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list