nonna
/ˈnɒnə/
"nonna" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“nonna” is an uncommon English word, ranked #74,354 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #74,354
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A grandmother, especially one with Italian ancestry.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | nonna |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈnɒnə/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #74,354 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “nonna” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for nonna is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈnɒnə/. Corpus data places it at rank #74,354 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A grandmother, especially one with Italian ancestry.".
No misspelling variants are generated for nonna in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Italian nonna. Doublet of nun. The correct English form is nonna, spelled N-O-N-N-A.
Definition
- 1A grandmother, especially one with Italian ancestry.
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian nonna. Doublet of nun.
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
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Using “nonna”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is N-O-N-N-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈnɒnə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.