katana

/kəˈtɑnə/

//kəˈtɑnə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“katana” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,797. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,797
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A type of Japanese longsword, having a single edge and slight curvature, historically used by samurai and ninja.

Corpus desk

Index EN-katana · katana · English

katana · rank #35,797 · 8 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #35,797
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH Kaine

Nearest frequency peer: Kaine (-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 “katana”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “katana” 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).

katana vs kazan
67% similar
katana vs Katya
50% similar
katana vs Katrina
57% similar

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

Key facts for katana
PropertyValue
Headwordkatana
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kəˈtɑnə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#35,797
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “katana”

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).katanalands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Kaine” (#35,796), “Kendal” (#35,798), “keyhole” (#35,800). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “katana” is #35,797. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around katana (IPA /kəˈtɑnə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #35,797 among 1,236 “K” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A type of Japanese longsword, having a single edge and slight curvature, historically used by samurai and ninja.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for katana, with forms such as "aktana", "kaatna", and "kataan". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "kazan", "Katya", "Katrina", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Japanese 刀(かたな) (katana). The correct English form is katana, spelled K-A-T-A-N-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A type of Japanese longsword, having a single edge and slight curvature, historically used by samurai and ninja.

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 刀(かたな) (katana).

Synonyms

samurai sword

This word in other languages

catana(Español)katana(Français)Katana(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aktana
  • kaatna
  • kataan
  • katanna
  • katnaa
  • kattana
  • kkatana
  • ktaana

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of katana - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

aktana2kaatna2kataan2katanna1katnaa2kattana1kkatana1ktaana2
Edit distance from "katana"

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 "katana"?
"katana" is spelled K-A-T-A-N-A. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈtɑnə/.
What does "katana" mean?
As a noun, "katana" means: A type of Japanese longsword, having a single edge and slight curvature, historically used by samurai and ninja.
What words are commonly confused with "katana"?
"katana" is commonly confused with "kazan", "Katya", "Katrina". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "katana"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "katana" is /kəˈtɑnə/. 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 "katana"?
Borrowed from Japanese 刀(かたな) (katana). 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 "katana", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Kendal#35,798Jewell#35,791Koenig#35,804Isobel#35,788

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Laredo8 variantsLovato8 variantsMessina8 variantsmusty8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list