Yama

name

"yama" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Yama” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #48,024. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#48,024
frequency rank, English
2,763
“Y” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The Hindu lord of death, who rides a buffalo.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Yama vs yea
25% similar
Yama vs yay
25% similar
Yama vs yan
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Yama
PropertyValue
HeadwordYama
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters4
Frequency rank#48,024
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Yama” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Yama lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around Yama, aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #48,024 among 2,763 “Y” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The Hindu lord of death, who rides a buffalo.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for Yama, with forms such as "ayma", "yaam", and "yamma". 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. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "yea", "yay", "yan", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Sanskrit यम (yamá). Doublet of Enma. The correct English form is Yama, spelled Y-A-M-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    The Hindu lord of death, who rides a buffalo.

Etymology

Borrowed from Sanskrit यम (yamá). Doublet of Enma.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ayma,yaam,yamma,ymaa,yyama

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Yama - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ayma2yaam2yamma1ymaa2yyama1
Edit distance from "Yama"

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 "Yama"?
"Yama" is spelled Y-A-M-A.
What does "Yama" mean?
As a proper noun, "Yama" means: The Hindu lord of death, who rides a buffalo.
What words are commonly confused with "Yama"?
"Yama" is commonly confused with "yea", "yay", "yan". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "Yama"?
Borrowed from Sanskrit यम (yamá). Doublet of Enma. 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.

Using “Yama”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is Y-A-M-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “yea” - see the side-by-side comparison. Yama vs yea
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list