kapo

/ˈkɑːpəʊ/

//ˈkɑːpəʊ// noun

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

The verdict

“kapo” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
4
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp who was given food and privileges in return for supervising other prisoners doing forced labor.

Corpus desk

Index EN-kapo · kapo · English

kapo · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "K" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for kapo
PropertyValue
Headwordkapo
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkɑːpəʊ/
Letters4
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “kapo” in English

kaporanks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

kapo is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkɑːpəʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for kapo, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from German Kapo, see there for further etymology. Doublet of corporal and capo. The correct English form is kapo, spelled K-A-P-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp who was given food and privileges in return for supervising other prisoners doing forced labor.
  2. 2
    A Jewish person perceived as enabling or assisting harm to the larger Jewish community by collaborating or allying with antisemites.

Etymology

Borrowed from German Kapo, see there for further etymology. Doublet of corporal and capo.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "kapo"?
"kapo" is spelled K-A-P-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɑːpəʊ/.
What does "kapo" mean?
As a noun, "kapo" means: A prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp who was given food and privileges in return for supervising other prisoners doing forced labor.
How do you pronounce "kapo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kapo" is /ˈkɑːpəʊ/. 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 "kapo"?
Borrowed from German Kapo, see there for further etymology. Doublet of corporal and capo. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list