Ottawa

/ˈɒtəwə/

//ˈɒtəwə// name

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

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

The verdict

“Ottawa” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,371. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,371
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A city in Ontario, Canada; the capital city of Canada.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ottawa · Ottawa · English

Ottawa · rank #7,371 · 6 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,371
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH organize

Nearest frequency peer: organize (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Ottawa”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Ottawa” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Ottawa vs Ozawa
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Ottawa
PropertyValue
HeadwordOttawa
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈɒtəwə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,371
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Ottawa”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).Ottawalands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “organize” (#7,370), “oval” (#7,372), “Olds” (#7,369). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “Ottawa” is #7,371. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around Ottawa (IPA /ˈɒtəwə/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #7,371 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for Ottawa, with forms such as "otatwa", "otawa", and "ottaaw". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Ozawa", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ojibwe odaawaa/ᐅᑡᐙ (“an Ottawa; a trader”), from Proto-Algonquian *atawewa (“to trade”). The correct English form is Ottawa, spelled O-T-T-A-W-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A city in Ontario, Canada; the capital city of Canada.
  2. 2
    The federal government of Canada.
  3. 3
    A river flowing southeast between Ontario and Quebec, Canada into the St. Lawrence River.
  4. 4
    A number of places in the United States:
  5. 5
    A number of places in the United States:
  6. 6
    A number of places in the United States:
  7. 7
    A number of places in the United States:
  8. 8
    A number of places in the United States:
  9. 9
    A number of places in the United States:
  10. 10
    A number of places in the United States:
  11. 11
    A village and former commune of Ivory Coast.
  12. 12
    A suburb of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
  13. 13
    An Algonquian people closely related to the Ojibwe.
  14. 14
    The Ottawa language (may be considered a dialect of Ojibwe).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. And of course, in July 1967 De Gaulle did come to Canada. He made his speeches in Quebec, was enthusiastically received on the Chemin du Roy, shouted “Vive le Quebec libre” in Montreal and, on learning of the reaction of the Canadian government, returned to Paris without going to Ottawa.
  2. New vehicles will cut emissions by 5.3 megatonnes by 2010 as part of Ottawa's plans to meet Canada's Kyoto targets.

Etymology

From Ojibwe odaawaa/ᐅᑡᐙ (“an Ottawa; a trader”), from Proto-Algonquian *atawewa (“to trade”).

Synonyms

National Capital RegionNCROttawa-HullOttawa-Gatineau

This word in other languages

Ottawa(Español)Outaouais(Français)Ottawa(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • otatwa
  • otawa
  • ottaaw
  • ottawwa
  • ottwaa
  • totawa

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Ottawa - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

otatwa2otawa1ottaaw2ottawwa1ottwaa2totawa2
Edit distance from "Ottawa"

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 "Ottawa"?
"Ottawa" is spelled O-T-T-A-W-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɒtəwə/.
What does "Ottawa" mean?
As a proper noun, "Ottawa" means: A city in Ontario, Canada; the capital city of Canada.
What words are commonly confused with "Ottawa"?
"Ottawa" is commonly confused with "Ozawa". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Ottawa"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Ottawa" is /ˈɒtəwə/. 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 "Ottawa"?
From Ojibwe odaawaa/ᐅᑡᐙ (“an Ottawa; a trader”), from Proto-Algonquian *atawewa (“to trade”). 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 "Ottawa", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

needle#7,367porter#7,375Martha#7,360Lauren#7,357

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

pity6 variantsOlds6 variantspond6 variantslawn6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list