mikado

/mɪˈkɑːdəʊ/

//mɪˈkɑːdəʊ// noun

"mikado" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mikado” is uncommon English (frequency #53,701 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,701
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A former title of the emperors of Japan during a certain period.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mikado · mikado · English

mikado · rank #53,701 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #53,701
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH microstructure

Nearest frequency peer: microstructure (-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 “mikado”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for mikado
PropertyValue
Headwordmikado
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mɪˈkɑːdəʊ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#53,701
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “mikado” 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).mikadofalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “microstructure” (#53,700), “mhm” (#53,699), “mindlessly” (#53,703). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mikado” is #53,701. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mikado is uncommon English at frequency #53,701 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /mɪˈkɑːdəʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for mikado, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Japanese 御門 (mikado), from 御 (mi, “honorable”) + 門 (kado, “gate, portal”). The correct English form is mikado, spelled M-I-K-A-D-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A former title of the emperors of Japan during a certain period.
  2. 2
    Any emperor of Japan.
  3. 3
    A game of skill, in which identically shaped (but differently colored and valued) wooden sticks must be removed from a pile without disturbing the remaining stack.
  4. 4
    A fabric having a stiff twill weave.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The mikados of Japan are its emperors.
  2. An interval of eighty years, occupied by two mikado of whose doings nothing is recorded, brings us to the celebrated female sovereign who invaded and conquered Korea.

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 御門 (mikado), from 御 (mi, “honorable”) + 門 (kado, “gate, portal”).

This word in other languages

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 "mikado"?
"mikado" is spelled M-I-K-A-D-O. The IPA pronunciation is /mɪˈkɑːdəʊ/.
What does "mikado" mean?
As a noun, "mikado" means: A former title of the emperors of Japan during a certain period.
How do you pronounce "mikado"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mikado" is /mɪˈkɑːdəʊ/. 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 "mikado"?
Borrowed from Japanese 御門 (mikado), from 御 (mi, “honorable”) + 門 (kado, “gate, portal”). 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 "mikado", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list