koala

/koʊˈɑː.lə/

//koʊˈɑː.lə// noun

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

"koala" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“koala” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,532. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,532
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
17
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A tree-dwelling marsupial, Phascolarctos cinereus, that resembles a small bear with a broad head, large ears and sharp claws, mainly found in eastern Australia.

Corpus desk

Index EN-koala · koala · English

koala · rank #27,532 · 6 variants · 17 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,532
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 17 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH Kirkland

Nearest frequency peer: Kirkland (-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 “koala”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “koala” 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).

koala vs kool
60% similar
koala vs Kona
40% similar
koala vs Kohl
40% similar

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

Key facts for koala
PropertyValue
Headwordkoala
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/koʊˈɑː.lə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#27,532
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs17
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “koala”

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).koalalands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Kirkland” (#27,531), “kip” (#27,530), “Kos” (#27,534). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “koala” is #27,532. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around koala (IPA /koʊˈɑː.lə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #27,532 among 1,236 “K” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A tree-dwelling marsupial, Phascolarctos cinereus, that resembles a small bear with a broad head, large ears and sharp claws, mainly found in eastern Australia.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for koala, with forms such as "kaola", "kkoala", and "koaal". 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 17 confusable-pair relationships, "kool", "Kona", "Kohl", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Dharug gula or gulawany. The correct English form is koala, spelled K-O-A-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A tree-dwelling marsupial, Phascolarctos cinereus, that resembles a small bear with a broad head, large ears and sharp claws, mainly found in eastern Australia.

Etymology

From Dharug gula or gulawany.

This word in other languages

koala(Español)koala(Français)Koala(Deutsch)coala(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • kaola
  • kkoala
  • koaal
  • koalla
  • kolaa
  • okala

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of koala - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

kaola2kkoala1koaal2koalla1kolaa2okala2
Edit distance from "koala"

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 "koala"?
"koala" is spelled K-O-A-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is /koʊˈɑː.lə/.
What does "koala" mean?
As a noun, "koala" means: A tree-dwelling marsupial, Phascolarctos cinereus, that resembles a small bear with a broad head, large ears and sharp claws, mainly found in eastern Australia.
What words are commonly confused with "koala"?
"koala" is commonly confused with "kool", "Kona", "Kohl". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "koala"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "koala" is /koʊˈɑː.lə/. 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 "koala"?
From Dharug gula or gulawany. 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 "koala", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

khaki#27,529Kabir#27,526Leith#27,539jetty#27,522

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

JPEG6 variantsJimmie6 variantsmacs6 variantsmuses6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list