Takao

/tæˈkaʊ/

//tæˈkaʊ// name

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

The verdict

“Takao” is uncommon English (frequency #75,468 among 3,151 “T” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,468
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Synonym of Kaohsiung.

Corpus desk

Index EN-takao · Takao · English

Takao · rank #75,468 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #75,468
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH Taguchi

Nearest frequency peer: Taguchi (-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 “Takao”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Takao
PropertyValue
HeadwordTakao
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/tæˈkaʊ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#75,468
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Takao” 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).Takaofalls 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: “Taguchi” (#75,467), “Tanna” (#75,469), “sycophant” (#75,466). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “Takao” is #75,468. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Takao is uncommon English at frequency #75,468 among 3,151 “T” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /tæˈkaʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Synonym of Kaohsiung.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Takao, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, 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 高(たか)雄(お) (Takao), from Min Nan 打狗 (Tá-káu). The correct English form is Takao, spelled T-A-K-A-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Synonym of Kaohsiung.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Foreign observers who were at Keelung March 8 state that in mid-afternoon the streets of the city were cleared suddenly by machine gun fire directed at no particular objects or persons. After dark ships docked and discharged the troops for which the Governor apparently had been waiting. Fairly reliable sources estimate that about 2,000 police were landed,…
  2. A descendant of Robert Swinhoe, the first British consul in what was then known as Formosa, on Thursday visited the British Consulate at Takow (打狗英國領事館) in Kaohsiung, hoping to deepen his understanding of his ancestor. ¶ Robert Swinhoe was stationed in Taiwan in July 1861 as the first British vice-consul, and he set up the first British Consular Office in…

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 高(たか)雄(お) (Takao), from Min Nan 打狗 (Tá-káu).

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 "Takao"?
"Takao" is spelled T-A-K-A-O. The IPA pronunciation is /tæˈkaʊ/.
What does "Takao" mean?
As a proper noun, "Takao" means: Synonym of Kaohsiung.
How do you pronounce "Takao"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Takao" is /tæˈkaʊ/. 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 "Takao"?
Borrowed from Japanese 高(たか)雄(お) (Takao), from Min Nan 打狗 (Tá-káu). 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 "Takao", 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