oolong

/ˈuː.lʊŋ/

//ˈuː.lʊŋ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“oolong” is uncommon English (frequency #61,001 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#61,001
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A partially fermented tea, often roasted, which combines the characteristics of green tea and black tea.

Corpus desk

Index EN-oolong · oolong · English

oolong · rank #61,001 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #61,001
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH orientalism

Nearest frequency peer: orientalism (+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 “oolong”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for oolong
PropertyValue
Headwordoolong
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈuː.lʊŋ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#61,001
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “oolong” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).oolongfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “orientalism” (#61,002), “overproduction” (#61,006), “overshadowing” (#61,007). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “oolong” is #61,001. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

oolong is uncommon English at frequency #61,001 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈuː.lʊŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A partially fermented tea, often roasted, which combines the characteristics of green tea and black tea.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for oolong, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: 1850s. From either Mandarin 烏龍 /乌龙 (wūlóng) due to hypercorrection, or directly from Hokkien 烏龍 /乌龙 (o͘-liông), from 烏 /乌 (o͘, “black”) + 龍 /龙 (liông, “dragon”). See also pouchong from Hokkien 包種茶 /包种茶 (pau-chióng-tê, literally “tea of the wrapped kind”). The correct English form is oolong, spelled O-O-L-O-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A partially fermented tea, often roasted, which combines the characteristics of green tea and black tea.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how oolong appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Flavour and aroma of semi-fermented teas is dictated by the extent of fermentation and, for this reason, oolong has a considerably stronger flavour than pouchong, which undergoes a significantly shorter fermentation.

Etymology

1850s. From either Mandarin 烏龍 /乌龙 (wūlóng) due to hypercorrection, or directly from Hokkien 烏龍 /乌龙 (o͘-liông), from 烏 /乌 (o͘, “black”) + 龍 /龙 (liông, “dragon”). See also pouchong from Hokkien 包種茶 /包种茶 (pau-chióng-tê, literally “tea of the wrapped kind”).

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 "oolong"?
"oolong" is spelled O-O-L-O-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈuː.lʊŋ/.
What does "oolong" mean?
As a noun, "oolong" means: A partially fermented tea, often roasted, which combines the characteristics of green tea and black tea.
How do you pronounce "oolong"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "oolong" is /ˈuː.lʊŋ/. 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 "oolong"?
1850s. From either Mandarin 烏龍 /乌龙 (wūlóng) due to hypercorrection, or directly from Hokkien 烏龍 /乌龙 (o͘-liông), from 烏 /乌 (o͘, “black”) + 龍 /龙 (liông, “dragon”). See also pouchong from Hokkien 包種茶 /包种茶 (pau-chióng-tê, literally “tea of the wrapped... 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 "oolong", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

pallid#61,012Nessie#60,983Petter#61,024Prabhu#61,038

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list