kana

/ˈkɑːnə/

//ˈkɑːnə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“kana” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #36,210. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#36,210
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The hiragana and katakana syllabaries. These are made up of characters that represent individual syllables, which are used to write Japanese words and particles. Kana are derived from kanji.

Corpus desk

Index EN-kana · kana · English

kana · rank #36,210 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #36,210
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH Juneau

Nearest frequency peer: Juneau (-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 “kana”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “kana” 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).

kana vs ken
50% similar
kana vs kay
50% similar
kana vs kin
50% similar

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

Key facts for kana
PropertyValue
Headwordkana
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɑːnə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#36,210
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “kana”

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).kanalands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Juneau” (#36,209), “juke” (#36,208), “Kenji” (#36,212). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “kana” is #36,210. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around kana (IPA /ˈkɑːnə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #36,210 among 1,236 “K” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for kana, with forms such as "akna", "kaan", and "kanna". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ken", "kay", "kin", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Japanese 仮名(かな) (kana, “phonetic character”, literally “borrowed character”, from the way that kana were originally Chinese characters "borrowed" for their phonetic values). The correct English form is kana, spelled K-A-N-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    The hiragana and katakana syllabaries. These are made up of characters that represent individual syllables, which are used to write Japanese words and particles. Kana are derived from kanji.
  2. 2
    A hiragana or katakana character.

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 仮名(かな) (kana, “phonetic character”, literally “borrowed character”, from the way that kana were originally Chinese characters "borrowed" for their phonetic values).

This word in other languages

kana(Français)kana(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • akna
  • kaan
  • kanna
  • kkana
  • knaa

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of kana - 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.

akna2kaan2kanna1kkana1knaa2
Edit distance from "kana"

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 "kana"?
"kana" is spelled K-A-N-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɑːnə/.
What does "kana" mean?
As a noun, "kana" means: The hiragana and katakana syllabaries. These are made up of characters that represent individual syllables, which are used to write Japanese words and particles. Kana are derived from kanji.
What words are commonly confused with "kana"?
"kana" is commonly confused with "ken", "kay", "kin". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "kana"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kana" is /ˈkɑːnə/. 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 "kana"?
Borrowed from Japanese 仮名(かな) (kana, “phonetic character”, literally “borrowed character”, from the way that kana were originally Chinese characters "borrowed" for their phonetic values). 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 "kana", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

juke#36,208Kiel#36,213kino#36,215lind#36,225

Similar misspelling depth

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

jello5 variantsHaig5 variantspogo5 variantspuri5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list