katana
/kəˈtɑnə/
"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
- 9,255
- “K” headwords
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 10
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A type of Japanese longsword, having a single edge and slight curvature, historically used by samurai and ninja.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | katana |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kəˈtɑnə/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #35,797 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 10 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “katana” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 8 spelling variants around katana (IPA /kəˈtɑnə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #35,797 among 9,255 “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
- 1A 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
This word in other languages
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.
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"?
What does "katana" mean?
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Using “katana”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is K-A-T-A-N-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kəˈtɑnə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “kazan” - see the side-by-side comparison. katana vs kazan
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Same frequency band
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.