# Malawi

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /məˈlɑːwi/ · frequency rank #18,881

## Definitions
1. A country in Southern Africa. Official name: Republic of Malawi.

## Etymology
Said to be from Chichewa malawi (“flames”), after the appearance of the sunrise over Lake Malawi; also possibly from Maravi, the name of an early Malawi tribe, or from an old name for a lake. Chosen by Hastings Banda in 1964.

## Easily confused with
- **Mali** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malawi-vs-mali)
- **Malay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malawi-vs-malay)
- **Malaya** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malawi-vs-malaya)
- **Malays** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malawi-vs-malays)
- **mala** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mala-vs-malawi)
- **Malaga** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malaga-vs-malawi)
- **Makati** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/makati-vs-malawi)
- **malaria** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malaria-vs-malawi)
- **Malachi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/malachi-vs-malawi)

## Common misspellings (8)
`amlawi`, `maalwi`, `malaiw`, `malawwi`, `mallawi`, `malwai`, `mlaawi`, `mmalawi`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/malawi