Rabaul

/ɹəˈbaʊl/

//ɹəˈbaʊl// name

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

The verdict

“Rabaul” is uncommon English (frequency #78,058 among 3,094 “R” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#78,058
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A town and former provincial capital in northern New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rabaul · Rabaul · English

Rabaul · rank #78,058 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #78,058
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH qubit

Nearest frequency peer: qubit (-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 “Rabaul”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Rabaul
PropertyValue
HeadwordRabaul
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ɹəˈbaʊl/
Letters6
Frequency rank#78,058
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Rabaul” 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).Rabaulfalls in this rarity band:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “qubit” (#78,056), “quadrangular” (#78,053), “RBG” (#78,063). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “Rabaul” is #78,058. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Rabaul is uncommon English at frequency #78,058 among 3,094 “R” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ɹəˈbaʊl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A town and former provincial capital in northern New Britain, Papua New Guinea.".

Rabaul doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Tolai baul (“mangrove”) or Rabaul (“Rabaul”) The correct English form is Rabaul, spelled R-A-B-A-U-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    A town and former provincial capital in northern New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

Etymology

Borrowed from Tolai baul (“mangrove”) or Rabaul (“Rabaul”)

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 "Rabaul"?
"Rabaul" is spelled R-A-B-A-U-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹəˈbaʊl/.
What does "Rabaul" mean?
As a proper noun, "Rabaul" means: A town and former provincial capital in northern New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
How do you pronounce "Rabaul"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Rabaul" is /ɹəˈbaʊl/. 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 "Rabaul"?
Borrowed from Tolai baul (“mangrove”) or Rabaul (“Rabaul”) 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 "Rabaul", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list