ukulele
/juː.kəˈleɪ.li/
"ukulele" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ukulele” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #28,773 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #28,773
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A small four-stringed guitar.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ukulele |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /juː.kəˈleɪ.li/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #28,773 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ukulele” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for ukulele is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /juː.kəˈleɪ.li/. Corpus data places it at rank #28,773 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "A small four-stringed guitar.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for ukulele, with forms such as "kuulele", "ukkulele", and "ukluele". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Hawaiian ʻukulele, from ʻuku (“flea”) + lele (“jump, jumping”). The correct English form is ukulele, spelled U-K-U-L-E-L-E.
Definition
- 1A small four-stringed guitar.
Etymology
Borrowed from Hawaiian ʻukulele, from ʻuku (“flea”) + lele (“jump, jumping”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: kuulele,ukkulele,ukluele,ukuelle,ukuleel,ukulelle,ukullee,ukullele,uuklele
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ukulele - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "ukulele"?
What does "ukulele" mean?
What are common misspellings of "ukulele"?
How do you pronounce "ukulele"?
What is the origin of the word "ukulele"?
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Using “ukulele”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is U-K-U-L-E-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /juː.kəˈleɪ.li/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.