nawab
/nəˈwɑːb/
"nawab" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“nawab” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #47,219 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #47,219
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 7
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A Muslim official in South Asia acting as a provincial deputy ruler under the Mughal empire; a local governor.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | nawab |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /nəˈwɑːb/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #47,219 |
| Misspellings tracked | 7 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “nawab” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for nawab is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /nəˈwɑːb/. Corpus data places it at rank #47,219 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for nawab, with forms such as "anwab", "naawb", and "nawabb". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "NWA", "Nawaz", "naw", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Hindi नवाब (navāb)/Urdu نواب (navāb), from Persian نوّاب (navvâb), ultimately from Arabic نُوَّاب (nuwwāb), plural of نَائِب (nāʔib, “naib”). The correct English form is nawab, spelled N-A-W-A-B.
Definition
- 1A Muslim official in South Asia acting as a provincial deputy ruler under the Mughal empire; a local governor.
- 2Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Polyura (possibly a subgenus of genus Charaxes).
Etymology
From Hindi नवाब (navāb)/Urdu نواب (navāb), from Persian نوّاب (navvâb), ultimately from Arabic نُوَّاب (nuwwāb), plural of نَائِب (nāʔib, “naib”).
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: anwab,naawb,nawabb,nawba,nawwab,nnawab,nwaab
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of nawab - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "nawab"?
What does "nawab" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "nawab"?
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Using “nawab”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-A-W-A-B - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /nəˈwɑːb/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “NWA” - see the side-by-side comparison. nawab vs NWA
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.