kugel

/ˈkuːɡl̩/

//ˈkuːɡl̩// noun

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

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

The verdict

“kugel” is uncommon English (frequency #89,532 among 1,236 “K” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#89,532
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A traditional savoury or sweet Jewish dish consisting of a baked pudding of pasta, potatoes, or rice, with vegetables, or raisins and spices.

Corpus desk

Index EN-kugel · kugel · English

kugel · rank #89,532 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #89,532
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH Kuntz

Nearest frequency peer: Kuntz (+2 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.

Long-tail ranks near “kugel”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “kugel” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for kugel
PropertyValue
Headwordkugel
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkuːɡl̩/
Letters5
Frequency rank#89,532
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “kugel” in English

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).kugelfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Kuntz” (#89,534), “Konya” (#89,529), “Kocher” (#89,528). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “kugel” is #89,532. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

kugel is uncommon English at frequency #89,532 among 1,236 “K” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkuːɡl̩/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for kugel in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Yiddish קוגל (kugl), from Middle High German kugel(e) (“ball”), referring to the roundish appearance of some puddings. Further etymology uncertain; see German Kugel for more. The correct English form is kugel, spelled K-U-G-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A traditional savoury or sweet Jewish dish consisting of a baked pudding of pasta, potatoes, or rice, with vegetables, or raisins and spices.
  2. 2
    A wealthy young Jewish woman characterized as materialistic and selfish.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how kugel appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Many cooks prepare one kugel in honor of the Sabbath. Some families serve extra kugels in honor of a Yom Tov or Rosh Chodesh that falls on a Sabbath. Their idea is to serve as many kugels as there are Torah scrolls read in the synagogue. Kugel recipes run the gamut from sweet to salty, soft to crisp, bland to sharp. They may be baked in the oven or pan-fr…
  2. In medieval Poland, kugel covered a range of preparations baked in shallow or deep (usually round) pans without reference to type of ingredients or elaborateness of preparation. The fancier deep-dish versions of kugel resembled bread puddings and were made almost exclusively for Chanukah. However, kugel also provided the practical advantage of being made…

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish קוגל (kugl), from Middle High German kugel(e) (“ball”), referring to the roundish appearance of some puddings. Further etymology uncertain; see German Kugel for more.

This word in other languages

kugel(Español)kugel(Français)Kugel(Deutsch)

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 "kugel"?
"kugel" is spelled K-U-G-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkuːɡl̩/.
What does "kugel" mean?
As a noun, "kugel" means: A traditional savoury or sweet Jewish dish consisting of a baked pudding of pasta, potatoes, or rice, with vegetables, or raisins and spices.
How do you pronounce "kugel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kugel" is /ˈkuːɡl̩/. 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 "kugel"?
Borrowed from Yiddish קוגל (kugl), from Middle High German kugel(e) (“ball”), referring to the roundish appearance of some puddings. Further etymology uncertain; see German Kugel for more. 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 "kugel", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Kuntz#89,534Konya#89,529Lauro#89,541Khost#89,520

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list