ume
"ume" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“ume” is uncommon English (frequency #68,716 among 1,433 “U” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #68,716
- frequency rank, English
- 1,433
- “U” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Japanese apricot, a species of Asian plum, Prunus mume.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ume · ume · English
ume · rank #68,716 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #68,716
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,433
- PHOTO-FINISH umbilicus
Nearest frequency peer: umbilicus (-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.
Frequency neighbourhood for “ume”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- twining
twining
31,289 corpus weight
- umbilicus
umbilicus
31,286 corpus weight
- ume
ume
31,285 corpus weight
- uncivil
uncivil
31,284 corpus weight
- underlay
underlay
31,283 corpus weight
- undershirt
undershirt
31,282 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “ume” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ume |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #68,716 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ume” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
ume is uncommon English at frequency #68,716 among 1,433 “U” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Japanese apricot, a species of Asian plum, Prunus mume.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for ume, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowing from Japanese 梅 (ume). The correct English form is ume, spelled U-M-E.
Definition
- 1Japanese apricot, a species of Asian plum, Prunus mume.
Etymology
Borrowing from Japanese 梅 (ume).
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ume", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
What to do next
You've looked up "ume". Here's where to go from here.
- Usage frequency rank #68,716 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.