salaam alaikum
/səˈlɑːm əˌleɪkʊm/
"salaam-alaikum" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“salaam alaikum” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an interjection - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A greeting said on meeting someone.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | salaam alaikum |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| IPA | /səˈlɑːm əˌleɪkʊm/ |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “salaam alaikum” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for salaam alaikum is 14 letters long, classified as an interjection, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /səˈlɑːm əˌleɪkʊm/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A greeting said on meeting someone.".
salaam alaikum has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Arabic السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ (as-salāmu ʕalaykum, “peace be upon you”). Doublet of shalom aleichem. The correct English form is salaam alaikum, spelled S-A-L-A-A-M- -A-L-A-I-K-U-M.
Definition
- 1A greeting said on meeting someone.
Etymology
Borrowed from Arabic السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ (as-salāmu ʕalaykum, “peace be upon you”). Doublet of shalom aleichem.
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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “salaam alaikum”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-A-L-A-A-M- -A-L-A-I-K-U-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /səˈlɑːm əˌleɪkʊm/ (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
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.