kanaka
"kanaka" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“kanaka” is uncommon English (frequency #90,609 among 1,236 “K” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #90,609
- frequency rank, English
- 1,236
- “K” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person of Hawaiian descent.
Corpus desk
Index EN-kanaka · kanaka · English
kanaka · rank #90,609 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #90,609
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,236
- PHOTO-FINISH kanban
Nearest frequency peer: kanban (+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 “kanaka”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- jizya
jizya
9,403 corpus weight
- kaftan
kaftan
9,397 corpus weight
- Kalani
Kalani
9,396 corpus weight
- kanaka
kanaka
9,392 corpus weight
- kanban
kanban
9,391 corpus weight
- Karon
Karon
9,388 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “kanaka” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | kanaka |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #90,609 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “kanaka” in English
Rare enough to double-check
kanaka is uncommon English at frequency #90,609 among 1,236 “K” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for kanaka in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. 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: 1840. From Hawaiian kanaka (“person”), ultimately from Proto-Polynesian *taŋata. The correct English form is kanaka, spelled K-A-N-A-K-A.
Definition
- 1A person of Hawaiian descent.
- 2A South Pacific Islander, especially a labourer in Australia or Canada.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how kanaka appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
It was considered one of the nation’s strictest bans because of the reference to Kanakas – native Hawaiians – and because Nevada was the only other state to add Chinese.
"Who was the call from?" "I don't know. Sound like a kanaka though.” When Erin frowned, he added, “A Hawaiian, like me.”
Etymology
1840. From Hawaiian kanaka (“person”), ultimately from Proto-Polynesian *taŋata.
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 "kanaka"?
What does "kanaka" mean?
What is the origin of the word "kanaka"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "kanaka", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).