sayonara
/ˌsaɪəˈnɑːɹə/
"sayonara" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sayonara” is uncommon English (frequency #61,793 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #61,793
- frequency rank, English
- 6,566
- “S” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Goodbye, adieu.
Corpus desk
Index EN-sayonara · sayonara · English
sayonara · rank #61,793 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #61,793
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 6,566
- PHOTO-FINISH SBU
Nearest frequency peer: SBU (+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.
Long-tail ranks near “sayonara”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- sanctify
sanctify
38,214 corpus weight
- satiated
satiated
38,213 corpus weight
- sayonara
sayonara
38,208 corpus weight
- SBU
SBU
38,207 corpus weight
- scriptwriter
scriptwriter
38,204 corpus weight
- scummy
scummy
38,203 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “sayonara” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sayonara |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| IPA | /ˌsaɪəˈnɑːɹə/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #61,793 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “sayonara” in English
Rare enough to double-check
sayonara is uncommon English at frequency #61,793 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as aninterjection, transcribed /ˌsaɪəˈnɑːɹə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Goodbye, adieu.".
sayonara has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Japanese さようなら (sayōnara, “farewell”, literally “if that's the way it is”) or its shorter, less traditional form さよなら (sayonara). The correct English form is sayonara, spelled S-A-Y-O-N-A-R-A.
Definition
- 1Goodbye, adieu.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how sayonara appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Sonic: Sayonara! Shadow the Hedgehog!
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese さようなら (sayōnara, “farewell”, literally “if that's the way it is”) or its shorter, less traditional form さよなら (sayonara).
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sayonara", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).