shisha

/ˈʃiːʃə/

//ˈʃiːʃə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“shisha” is uncommon English (frequency #59,012 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,012
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An Arabic water-pipe, or hookah.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shisha · shisha · English

shisha · rank #59,012 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #59,012
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH shorthanded

Nearest frequency peer: shorthanded (+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 “shisha”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “shisha” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for shisha
PropertyValue
Headwordshisha
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʃiːʃə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#59,012
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “shisha” in English

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).shishafalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “shorthanded” (#59,013), “Shaanxi” (#59,010), “Shostakovich” (#59,014). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shisha” is #59,012. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

shisha is uncommon English at frequency #59,012 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈʃiːʃə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for shisha in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. 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 Egyptian Arabic شيشة (šīša), from Ottoman Turkish شیشه şişe, from Classical Persian شیشه (šīša, “glass, mirror”). The correct English form is shisha, spelled S-H-I-S-H-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    An Arabic water-pipe, or hookah.
  2. 2
    The tobacco smoked in such a pipe, especially as mixed with molasses and flavour extract.
  3. 3
    A type of embroidery with small pieces of reflective metal attached to the fabric.

Etymology

Borrowed from Egyptian Arabic شيشة (šīša), from Ottoman Turkish شیشه şişe, from Classical Persian شیشه (šīša, “glass, mirror”).

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 "shisha"?
"shisha" is spelled S-H-I-S-H-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃiːʃə/.
What does "shisha" mean?
As a noun, "shisha" means: An Arabic water-pipe, or hookah.
How do you pronounce "shisha"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shisha" is /ˈʃiːʃə/. 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 "shisha"?
Borrowed from Egyptian Arabic شيشة (šīša), from Ottoman Turkish شیشه şişe, from Classical Persian شیشه (šīša, “glass, mirror”). 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 "shisha", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

shruti#59,016seraph#59,007simile#59,018Seddon#59,005

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list