mochi

/ˈmoʊtʃi/

//ˈmoʊtʃi// noun

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

The verdict

“mochi” is uncommon English (frequency #58,206 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#58,206
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A small Japanese rice cake made from glutinous rice.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mochi · mochi · English

mochi · rank #58,206 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #58,206
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mohair

Nearest frequency peer: mohair (+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 “mochi”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for mochi
PropertyValue
Headwordmochi
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmoʊtʃi/
Letters5
Frequency rank#58,206
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “mochi” 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).mochifalls 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: “mohair” (#58,207), “Moloch” (#58,208), “monarchist” (#58,209). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mochi” is #58,206. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mochi is uncommon English at frequency #58,206 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmoʊtʃi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A small Japanese rice cake made from glutinous rice.".

Zero misspellings are on record for mochi in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. 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 餅(もち) (mochi). The correct English form is mochi, spelled M-O-C-H-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small Japanese rice cake made from glutinous rice.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Many of Japan's most popular confections are dusted with a light coating of sweetened kinako. These confections usually consist of a grain such as mochi (pounded glutinous rice) […]
  2. And when it comes to mochi, the Japanese rice dough, much of its appeal can be attributed to a glorious bounce or a gelatinous squish or a comforting kind of gloop. One of the most popular ways to eat mochi is in the sweet packages known as daifuku: The dough is stretched around a filling of red bean paste, or creams in flavors like green tea, chocolate o…

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 餅(もち) (mochi).

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 "mochi"?
"mochi" is spelled M-O-C-H-I. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmoʊtʃi/.
What does "mochi" mean?
As a noun, "mochi" means: A small Japanese rice cake made from glutinous rice.
How do you pronounce "mochi"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mochi" is /ˈmoʊtʃi/. 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 "mochi"?
Borrowed from Japanese 餅(もち) (mochi). 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 "mochi", 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