kava
/kɑː.və/noun
kava is spelled K-A-V-A: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 57,423rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kava means “Any member of the species Piper methysticum, a plant from the South Pacific” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kava is kavas.
How many letters and syllables are in kava?
| Letters | 4: K-A-V-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 57,423rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is kava?
Kava appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 57,423rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce kava?
- UK /kɑː.və/
Kava has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-kava.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with kava
Also written: ava.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of kava
- kavas plural
- ava
- kawa
- ʻawa
- yava
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kava mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any member of the species Piper methysticum, a plant from the South Pacific.
- 2
An intoxicating beverage made from the kava plant.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kava in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the plant Piper methysticum:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does kava come from?
From Tongan kava, in turn from Proto-Polynesian *kawa. Doublet of ʻawa, ava, kawa, and yava.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).