pachinko

/pəˈt͡ʃɪŋkəʊ/

//pəˈt͡ʃɪŋkəʊ// noun

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

"pachinko" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pachinko” is uncommon English (frequency #61,010 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#61,010
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A mechanical ball-dropping game similar to pinball, popular in Japan.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pachinko · pachinko · English

pachinko · rank #61,010 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #61,010
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH palatal

Nearest frequency peer: palatal (+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 “pachinko”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pachinko
PropertyValue
Headwordpachinko
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pəˈt͡ʃɪŋkəʊ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#61,010
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pachinko” 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).pachinkofalls 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: “palatal” (#61,011), “overstep” (#61,008), “pallid” (#61,012). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pachinko” is #61,010. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pachinko is uncommon English at frequency #61,010 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /pəˈt͡ʃɪŋkəʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A mechanical ball-dropping game similar to pinball, popular in Japan.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for pachinko, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Japanese パチンコ (pachinko), from ぱちん (pachin, onomatopoeic sound of the machines) + こ (ko, diminutive). Compare etymology of gacha, from Japanese ガシャポン. The correct English form is pachinko, spelled P-A-C-H-I-N-K-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A mechanical ball-dropping game similar to pinball, popular in Japan.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Two teen-age boys, after selling their personal belongings to play pachinko, sold their blood to "gamble.”
  2. The rain kept up, falling along Harajuku, beading on her plastic jacket, the children of Tokyo trooping past the famous boutiques in white loafers and clingwrap capes, until she'd stood with him in the midnight clatter of a pachinko parlor and held his hand like a child.

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese パチンコ (pachinko), from ぱちん (pachin, onomatopoeic sound of the machines) + こ (ko, diminutive). Compare etymology of gacha, from Japanese ガシャポン.

This word in other languages

pachinko(Español)

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 "pachinko"?
"pachinko" is spelled P-A-C-H-I-N-K-O. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈt͡ʃɪŋkəʊ/.
What does "pachinko" mean?
As a noun, "pachinko" means: A mechanical ball-dropping game similar to pinball, popular in Japan.
How do you pronounce "pachinko"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pachinko" is /pəˈt͡ʃɪŋkəʊ/. 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 "pachinko"?
Borrowed from Japanese パチンコ (pachinko), from ぱちん (pachin, onomatopoeic sound of the machines) + こ (ko, diminutive). Compare etymology of gacha, from Japanese ガシャポン. 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 "pachinko", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

overstep#61,008Perceval#61,020Pergamon#61,021polyglot#61,033

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list