stupa

/ˈstuːpə/

//ˈstuːpə// noun

"stupa" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stupa” is uncommon English (frequency #67,081 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,081
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A dome-shaped Buddhist monument, used to house relics of the Lord Buddha.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stupa · stupa · English

stupa · rank #67,081 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,081
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH stumpy

Nearest frequency peer: stumpy (-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 “stupa”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for stupa
PropertyValue
Headwordstupa
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈstuːpə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#67,081
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “stupa” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).stupafalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “stumpy” (#67,080), “subcompact” (#67,082), “Stranraer” (#67,079). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “stupa” is #67,081. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

stupa is uncommon English at frequency #67,081 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈstuːpə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A dome-shaped Buddhist monument, used to house relics of the Lord Buddha.".

No misspelling variants are generated for stupa in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Sanskrit स्तूप (stūpa). Doublet of tope. The correct English form is stupa, spelled S-T-U-P-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A dome-shaped Buddhist monument, used to house relics of the Lord Buddha.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He mounded so much honey on the top of the buns that they looked like miniature stupas.
  2. I cupped her cheeks and thought of the lotus flowers at the thresholds of Buddhist stupas, their pale petals resting in the palms of the faithful.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Sanskrit स्तूप (stūpa). Doublet of tope.

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 "stupa"?
"stupa" is spelled S-T-U-P-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈstuːpə/.
What does "stupa" mean?
As a noun, "stupa" means: A dome-shaped Buddhist monument, used to house relics of the Lord Buddha.
How do you pronounce "stupa"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stupa" is /ˈstuːpə/. 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 "stupa"?
Learned borrowing from Sanskrit स्तूप (stūpa). Doublet of tope. 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 "stupa", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list