onsen
/ɒnˈsɛn/
"onsen" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“onsen” is uncommon English (frequency #62,375 among 15,494 “O” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #62,375
- frequency rank, English
- 15,494
- “O” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A (Japanese) hot spring.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | onsen |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɒnˈsɛn/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #62,375 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “onsen” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
onsen is uncommon English at frequency #62,375 among 15,494 “O” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ɒnˈsɛn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for onsen in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Japanese 温泉 (onsen), from Middle Chinese 溫泉 ('won dzjwen, “hot springs”), from 溫 /温 (wēn, “warm”) + 泉 (quán, “spring[s]”). Compare the modern Mandarin pronunciation 溫泉 /温泉 (wēnquán). The correct English form is onsen, spelled O-N-S-E-N.
Definition
- 1A (Japanese) hot spring.
- 2A Japanese-style resort hotel at a natural hot spring, offering on-site bathing.
Etymology
From Japanese 温泉 (onsen), from Middle Chinese 溫泉 ('won dzjwen, “hot springs”), from 溫 /温 (wēn, “warm”) + 泉 (quán, “spring[s]”). Compare the modern Mandarin pronunciation 溫泉 /温泉 (wēnquán).
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
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Using “onsen”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is O-N-S-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɒnˈsɛn/ (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
Other uncommon English words near this rank
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.