washi
"washi" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“washi” is uncommon English (frequency #65,622 among 1,759 “W” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #65,622
- frequency rank, English
- 1,759
- “W” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A tough paper used in traditional Japanese art forms.
Corpus desk
Index EN-washi · washi · English
washi · rank #65,622 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #65,622
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,759
- PHOTO-FINISH Watling
Nearest frequency peer: Watling (+2 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 “washi”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- viscose
viscose
34,386 corpus weight
- vlogger
vlogger
34,385 corpus weight
- voiding
voiding
34,383 corpus weight
- washi
washi
34,379 corpus weight
- Watling
Watling
34,377 corpus weight
- Wendt
Wendt
34,372 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “washi” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | washi |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #65,622 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “washi” in English
Rare enough to double-check
washi is uncommon English at frequency #65,622 among 1,759 “W” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A tough paper used in traditional Japanese art forms.".
No generated misspelling entries exist for washi in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Japanese 和紙 (washi). The correct English form is washi, spelled W-A-S-H-I.
Definition
- 1A tough paper used in traditional Japanese art forms.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how washi appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
My favorite is Model B, a nubby construction that is 18 inches wide by 92 inches long and is made of washi paper over bamboo ribs.
Etymology
From Japanese 和紙 (washi).
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 "washi"?
What does "washi" mean?
What is the origin of the word "washi"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "washi", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).