samsara

/sʌmˈsɑɹə/

//sʌmˈsɑɹə// noun

"samsara" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“samsara” is uncommon English (frequency #64,681 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,681
frequency rank, English
54,294
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and some other eastern religions, the ongoing cycle of birth, death, and rebirth endured by human beings and all other mortal beings, and from which release is obtai...

Key facts for samsara
PropertyValue
Headwordsamsara
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/sʌmˈsɑɹə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#64,681
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “samsara” 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). samsara 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

samsara is uncommon English at frequency #64,681 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /sʌmˈsɑɹə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "In Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and some other eastern religions, the ongoing cycle of birth, death, and rebirth endured by human beings and all other mortal beings, and from which release is obtai...".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for samsara, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Sanskrit संसार (saṃsāra). The correct English form is samsara, spelled S-A-M-S-A-R-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    In Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and some other eastern religions, the ongoing cycle of birth, death, and rebirth endured by human beings and all other mortal beings, and from which release is obtained by achieving the highest enlightenment.

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit संसार (saṃsāra).

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 "samsara"?
"samsara" is spelled S-A-M-S-A-R-A. The IPA pronunciation is /sʌmˈsɑɹə/.
What does "samsara" mean?
As a noun, "samsara" means: In Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and some other eastern religions, the ongoing cycle of birth, death, and rebirth endured by human beings and all other mortal beings, and from which release is obtai...
How do you pronounce "samsara"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "samsara" is /sʌmˈsɑɹə/. 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 "samsara"?
Borrowed from Sanskrit संसार (saṃsāra). 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 “samsara”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is S-A-M-S-A-R-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /sʌmˈsɑɹə/ (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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list