reggae

/ˈɹɛɡeɪ/

//ˈɹɛɡeɪ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“reggae” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,689. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,689
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s and is heavily associated with Rastafarianism, featuring a heavy bass line and percussive rhythm guitar on the offbeat, often with close v...

Corpus desk

Index EN-reggae · reggae · English

reggae · rank #15,689 · 6 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,689
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH RBI

Nearest frequency peer: RBI (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “reggae”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “reggae” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

reggae vs regime
67% similar
reggae vs Reggie
67% similar
reggae vs regal
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for reggae
PropertyValue
Headwordreggae
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɹɛɡeɪ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#15,689
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “reggae”

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).reggaelands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “RBI” (#15,688), “Ramos” (#15,687), “respectfully” (#15,691). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “reggae” is #15,689. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around reggae (IPA /ˈɹɛɡeɪ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,689 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s and is heavily associated with Rastafarianism, featuring a heavy bass line and percussive rhythm guitar on the offbeat, often with close v...".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for reggae, with forms such as "erggae", "regae", and "regage". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "regime", "Reggie", "regal", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Jamaican Creole rege (“rags; a quarrel”), see rag; originally used in the 1960s to describe a Jamaican dance. Compare ragtime. Broader musical sense popularized by the 1968 Maytals song “Do the Reggay”. The correct English form is reggae, spelled R-E-G-G-A-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s and is heavily associated with Rastafarianism, featuring a heavy bass line and percussive rhythm guitar on the offbeat, often with close vocal harmonies.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Near-synonym: (earlier) bluebeat
  2. I want to do the reggay with you / Come onto me, do the dance

Etymology

From Jamaican Creole rege (“rags; a quarrel”), see rag; originally used in the 1960s to describe a Jamaican dance. Compare ragtime. Broader musical sense popularized by the 1968 Maytals song “Do the Reggay”.

This word in other languages

reggae(Español)reggae(Français)Reggae(Deutsch)reggae(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • erggae
  • regae
  • regage
  • reggea
  • rgegae
  • rreggae

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of reggae - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

erggae2regae1regage2reggea2rgegae2rreggae1
Edit distance from "reggae"

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 "reggae"?
"reggae" is spelled R-E-G-G-A-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹɛɡeɪ/.
What does "reggae" mean?
As a noun, "reggae" means: A music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s and is heavily associated with Rastafarianism, featuring a heavy bass line and percussive rhythm guitar on the offbeat, often with close v...
What words are commonly confused with "reggae"?
"reggae" is commonly confused with "regime", "Reggie", "regal". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "reggae"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "reggae" is /ˈɹɛɡeɪ/. 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 "reggae"?
From Jamaican Creole rege (“rags; a quarrel”), see rag; originally used in the 1960s to describe a Jamaican dance. Compare ragtime. Broader musical sense popularized by the 1968 Maytals song “Do the Reggay”. 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 "reggae", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

pollen#15,680piston#15,677ordeal#15,671Miriam#15,662

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

rodeo6 variantstaboo6 variantsmater6 variantswand6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list