ulema
/ˈʊləmə/
"ulema" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ulema” is uncommon English (frequency #80,077 among 1,433 “U” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #80,077
- frequency rank, English
- 1,433
- “U” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - plural of alim; the guardians of legal and religious tradition in Islam; clerics.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ulema · ulema · English
ulema · rank #80,077 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #80,077
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,433
- PHOTO-FINISH unbutton
Nearest frequency peer: unbutton (+3 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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “ulema”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- tyke
tyke
19,930 corpus weight
- ulema
ulema
19,924 corpus weight
- unbutton
unbutton
19,921 corpus weight
- uncharitable
uncharitable
19,920 corpus weight
- uncoupled
uncoupled
19,919 corpus weight
- unfrozen
unfrozen
19,918 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “ulema” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ulema |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈʊləmə/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #80,077 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ulema” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
ulema is uncommon English at frequency #80,077 among 1,433 “U” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈʊləmə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "plural of alim; the guardians of legal and religious tradition in Islam; clerics.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for ulema, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish علما (ulemâ), from Arabic عُلَمَاء (ʕulamāʔ, plural of عَالِم (ʕālim, “learned one”)). Doublet of ulama and olema. The correct English form is ulema, spelled U-L-E-M-A.
Definition
- 1plural of alim; the guardians of legal and religious tradition in Islam; clerics.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how ulema appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
In process of time, the whole monopoly of the ulema centred in a certain number of families; and their constant residence at the capital, to which they return at the expiration of their term of office, has maintained their power to the present day.
Perhaps surprisingly, ulema families were less likely to intermarry with other ulema families than merchant families were to intermarry with other merchant families.
Etymology
Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish علما (ulemâ), from Arabic عُلَمَاء (ʕulamāʔ, plural of عَالِم (ʕālim, “learned one”)). Doublet of ulama and olema.
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 "ulema"?
What does "ulema" mean?
How do you pronounce "ulema"?
What is the origin of the word "ulema"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ulema", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
What to do next
You've looked up "ulema". Here's where to go from here.
- Usage frequency rank #80,077 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "U" letter cohort. U–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.