maiko

noun

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

The verdict

“maiko” is uncommon English (frequency #87,518 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#87,518
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An apprentice geisha.

Corpus desk

Index EN-maiko · maiko · English

maiko · rank #87,518 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #87,518
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH magnetics

Nearest frequency peer: magnetics (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “maiko”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for maiko
PropertyValue
Headwordmaiko
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters5
Frequency rank#87,518
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “maiko” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).maikofalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “magnetics” (#87,517), “maillot” (#87,519), “makerspace” (#87,520). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “maiko” is #87,518. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

maiko is uncommon English at frequency #87,518 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An apprentice geisha.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for maiko, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Japanese 舞妓 (maiko, literally “dancing child”). The correct English form is maiko, spelled M-A-I-K-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    An apprentice geisha.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. It is our pleasure to introduce a new maiko.

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 舞妓 (maiko, literally “dancing child”).

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 "maiko"?
"maiko" is spelled M-A-I-K-O.
What does "maiko" mean?
As a noun, "maiko" means: An apprentice geisha.
What is the origin of the word "maiko"?
Borrowed from Japanese 舞妓 (maiko, literally “dancing child”). 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 "maiko", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list