mogwai

/ˈmɒɡwaɪ/

//ˈmɒɡwaɪ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“mogwai” is uncommon English (frequency #70,914 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,914
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A kind of demon held to be harmful to humans.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mogwai · mogwai · English

mogwai · rank #70,914 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #70,914
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH modifiable

Nearest frequency peer: modifiable (-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 “mogwai”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for mogwai
PropertyValue
Headwordmogwai
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmɒɡwaɪ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#70,914
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “mogwai” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).mogwaifalls 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: “modifiable” (#70,913), “Mohammedan” (#70,915), “modafinil” (#70,912). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mogwai” is #70,914. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mogwai is uncommon English at frequency #70,914 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmɒɡwaɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A kind of demon held to be harmful to humans.".

No misspelling variants are generated for mogwai in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Cantonese 魔怪 (mo1 gwaai3), 魔鬼 (mo1 gwai2). The correct English form is mogwai, spelled M-O-G-W-A-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    A kind of demon held to be harmful to humans.

Etymology

From Cantonese 魔怪 (mo1 gwaai3), 魔鬼 (mo1 gwai2).

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 "mogwai"?
"mogwai" is spelled M-O-G-W-A-I. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmɒɡwaɪ/.
What does "mogwai" mean?
As a noun, "mogwai" means: A kind of demon held to be harmful to humans.
How do you pronounce "mogwai"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mogwai" is /ˈmɒɡwaɪ/. 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 "mogwai"?
From Cantonese 魔怪 (mo1 gwaai3), 魔鬼 (mo1 gwai2). 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 "mogwai", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Moises#70,916Moylan#70,930Mesmer#70,896McNeal#70,887

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list