pula

/pʊlə/

//pʊlə// noun

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

The verdict

“pula” is uncommon English (frequency #63,161 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,161
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Rain, used as an expression of greeting or good luck.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pula · pula · English

pula · rank #63,161 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #63,161
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Prowse

Nearest frequency peer: Prowse (-2 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 “pula”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pula
PropertyValue
Headwordpula
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pʊlə/
Letters4
Frequency rank#63,161
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pula” 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).pulafalls 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: “Prowse” (#63,159), “pursuer” (#63,163), “putsch” (#63,164). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pula” is #63,161. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pula is uncommon English at frequency #63,161 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /pʊlə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for pula in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Tswana pula, Northern Sotho pula, and Sotho pula (“rain”), all from Proto-Bantu *mbúdà. The correct English form is pula, spelled P-U-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Rain, used as an expression of greeting or good luck.
  2. 2
    The currency of Botswana, divided into 100 thebe.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Given under my hand and the Public Seal at Gaborone this 31st day of March, 2020. / PULA!

Etymology

From Tswana pula, Northern Sotho pula, and Sotho pula (“rain”), all from Proto-Bantu *mbúdà.

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 "pula"?
"pula" is spelled P-U-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is /pʊlə/.
What does "pula" mean?
As a noun, "pula" means: Rain, used as an expression of greeting or good luck.
How do you pronounce "pula"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pula" is /pʊlə/. 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 "pula"?
From Tswana pula, Northern Sotho pula, and Sotho pula (“rain”), all from Proto-Bantu *mbúdà. 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 "pula", 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