surau

noun

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

The verdict

“surau” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A small mosque or other Islamic assembly building in parts of Sumatra and the Malay peninsula.

Key facts for surau
PropertyValue
Headwordsurau
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “surau” sits in English frequency

surau falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

surau is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for surau in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Malay surau, possibly from Sanskrit सुरौकस् (suraukas, “abode of the gods”). The correct English form is surau, spelled S-U-R-A-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    A small mosque or other Islamic assembly building in parts of Sumatra and the Malay peninsula.
  2. 2
    A small room in any public place where Muslims pray.

Etymology

From Malay surau, possibly from Sanskrit सुरौकस् (suraukas, “abode of the gods”).

Synonyms

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

How do you spell "surau"?
"surau" is spelled S-U-R-A-U.
What does "surau" mean?
As a noun, "surau" means: A small mosque or other Islamic assembly building in parts of Sumatra and the Malay peninsula.
What is the origin of the word "surau"?
From Malay surau, possibly from Sanskrit सुरौकस् (suraukas, “abode of the gods”). 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 “surau”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is S-U-R-A-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list