pada

/ˈpɑːdə/

//ˈpɑːdə// noun

"pada" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pada” is uncommon English (frequency #86,609 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#86,609
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The basic metric unit of Vedic poetry, consisting of one line of verse in Sanskrit, typically as part of a four-line stanza.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pada · pada · English

pada · rank #86,609 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #86,609
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH outshone

Nearest frequency peer: outshone (-4 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 “pada”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pada
PropertyValue
Headwordpada
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɑːdə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#86,609
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pada” 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).padafalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “outshone” (#86,605), “outscore” (#86,604), “orthostatic” (#86,602). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pada” is #86,609. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pada is uncommon English at frequency #86,609 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɑːdə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The basic metric unit of Vedic poetry, consisting of one line of verse in Sanskrit, typically as part of a four-line stanza.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for pada, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Sanskrit पद (pada). The correct English form is pada, spelled P-A-D-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    The basic metric unit of Vedic poetry, consisting of one line of verse in Sanskrit, typically as part of a four-line stanza.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. There were quatrains and broken verses and entire poems. There were padas that she had started and scratched out.

Etymology

From Sanskrit पद (pada).

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 "pada"?
"pada" is spelled P-A-D-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɑːdə/.
What does "pada" mean?
As a noun, "pada" means: The basic metric unit of Vedic poetry, consisting of one line of verse in Sanskrit, typically as part of a four-line stanza.
How do you pronounce "pada"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pada" is /ˈpɑːdə/. 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 "pada"?
From Sanskrit पद (pada). 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 "pada", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list