lo aleinu

intj

"lo-aleinu" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lo aleinu” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - may it not happen to us; an expression that indicates a desire that a previously mentioned negative thing not happen again or effect anyone else

Corpus desk

Index EN-lo-aleinu · lo aleinu · English

lo aleinu · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "L" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for lo aleinu
PropertyValue
Headwordlo aleinu
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “lo aleinu” in English

lo aleinufalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

lo aleinu is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aninterjection. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "may it not happen to us; an expression that indicates a desire that a previously mentioned negative thing not happen again or effect anyone else".

lo aleinu doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Yiddish לא־עלינו (loy oleynu) and Hebrew לֹא עָלֵינוּ (“lit. (may it) not [be] upon us”). The correct English form is lo aleinu, spelled L-O- -A-L-E-I-N-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    may it not happen to us; an expression that indicates a desire that a previously mentioned negative thing not happen again or effect anyone else

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. "Did you hear? There was an antisemitic attack yesterday!" — "That's horrible! Lo aleinu!"

Etymology

From Yiddish לא־עלינו (loy oleynu) and Hebrew לֹא עָלֵינוּ (“lit. (may it) not [be] upon us”).

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lo aleinu"?
"lo aleinu" is spelled L-O- -A-L-E-I-N-U.
What does "lo aleinu" mean?
As an interjection, "lo aleinu" means: may it not happen to us; an expression that indicates a desire that a previously mentioned negative thing not happen again or effect anyone else
What is the origin of the word "lo aleinu"?
From Yiddish לא־עלינו (loy oleynu) and Hebrew לֹא עָלֵינוּ (“lit. (may it) not [be] upon us”). 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list