Yangon

/jɑŋˈɡɑn/

//jɑŋˈɡɑn// name

"yangon" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Yangon” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #28,093 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.

#28,093
frequency rank, English
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The largest city and former capital of Myanmar; formerly, Rangoon (19th–21st c.), Dagon (16th–18th c.), and Dagoon (rare).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

Yangon vs yang
50% similar

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

Key facts for Yangon
PropertyValue
HeadwordYangon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/jɑŋˈɡɑn/
Letters6
Frequency rank#28,093
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Yangon” 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). Yangon lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for Yangon is 6 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /jɑŋˈɡɑn/. Corpus data places it at rank #28,093 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "The largest city and former capital of Myanmar; formerly, Rangoon (19th–21st c.), Dagon (16th–18th c.), and Dagoon (rare).".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for Yangon, with forms such as "ayngon", "yagnon", and "yanggon". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "yang", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Burmese ရန်ကုန် (rankun), pronounced /jàɴɡòʊɴ/ in standard Burmese. The correct English form is Yangon, spelled Y-A-N-G-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The largest city and former capital of Myanmar; formerly, Rangoon (19th–21st c.), Dagon (16th–18th c.), and Dagoon (rare).

Etymology

Borrowed from Burmese ရန်ကုန် (rankun), pronounced /jàɴɡòʊɴ/ in standard Burmese.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ayngon,yagnon,yanggon,yangno,yangonn,yanngon,yanogn,ynagon,yyangon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Yangon - 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.

ayngon2yagnon2yanggon1yangno2yangonn1yanngon1yanogn2ynagon2
Edit distance from "Yangon"

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 "Yangon"?
"Yangon" is spelled Y-A-N-G-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /jɑŋˈɡɑn/.
What does "Yangon" mean?
As a proper noun, "Yangon" means: The largest city and former capital of Myanmar; formerly, Rangoon (19th–21st c.), Dagon (16th–18th c.), and Dagoon (rare).
What words are commonly confused with "Yangon"?
"Yangon" is commonly confused with "yang". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Yangon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Yangon" is /jɑŋˈɡɑn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Yangon"?
Borrowed from Burmese ရန်ကုန် (rankun), pronounced /jàɴɡòʊɴ/ in standard Burmese. 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 “Yangon”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is Y-A-N-G-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /jɑŋˈɡɑn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “yang” - see the side-by-side comparison. Yangon vs yang
  • 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.

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

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