rasta

/ˈɹæs.tə/

//ˈɹæs.tə// noun

"rasta" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rasta” is uncommon English (frequency #53,198 among 21,470 “R” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,198
frequency rank, English
21,470
“R” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Rastafarian

Key facts for rasta
PropertyValue
Headwordrasta
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɹæs.tə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#53,198
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “rasta” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

rasta is uncommon English at frequency #53,198 among 21,470 “R” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɹæs.tə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for rasta in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Short for Rastafarian or Rastafari. The correct English form is rasta, spelled R-A-S-T-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Rastafarian
  2. 2
    Diminutive of rastaquouère

Etymology

Short for Rastafarian or Rastafari.

This word in other languages

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 "rasta"?
"rasta" is spelled R-A-S-T-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹæs.tə/.
What does "rasta" mean?
As a noun, "rasta" means: Rastafarian
How do you pronounce "rasta"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rasta" is /ˈɹæs.tə/. 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 "rasta"?
Short for Rastafarian or Rastafari. 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.

Using “rasta”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is R-A-S-T-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈɹæs.tə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list