Niobe

/ˈnʌɪ.ə.bi/

//ˈnʌɪ.ə.bi// name

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

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

The verdict

“Niobe” is uncommon English (frequency #76,164 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#76,164
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A daughter of Tantalus, said to have turned into stone while weeping for her children.

Corpus desk

Index EN-niobe · Niobe · English

Niobe · rank #76,164 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #76,164
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH Niigata

Nearest frequency peer: Niigata (-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 “Niobe”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Niobe
PropertyValue
HeadwordNiobe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈnʌɪ.ə.bi/
Letters5
Frequency rank#76,164
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Niobe” 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).Niobefalls 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: “Niigata” (#76,163), “nihil” (#76,162), “nosh” (#76,170). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “Niobe” is #76,164. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Niobe is uncommon English at frequency #76,164 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ˈnʌɪ.ə.bi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for Niobe, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek Νιόβη (Nióbē). The correct English form is Niobe, spelled N-I-O-B-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A daughter of Tantalus, said to have turned into stone while weeping for her children.
  2. 2
    A daughter of Phoroneus and Teledice.
  3. 3
    71 Niobe, a main belt asteroid.
  4. 4
    A female given name from Ancient Greek.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Νιόβη (Nióbē).

This word in other languages

Niobe(Deutsch)

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 "Niobe"?
"Niobe" is spelled N-I-O-B-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnʌɪ.ə.bi/.
What does "Niobe" mean?
As a proper noun, "Niobe" means: A daughter of Tantalus, said to have turned into stone while weeping for her children.
How do you pronounce "Niobe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Niobe" is /ˈnʌɪ.ə.bi/. 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 "Niobe"?
From Ancient Greek Νιόβη (Nióbē). 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 "Niobe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

nihil#76,162Nampa#76,147Okoye#76,182oleic#76,183

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list