Yoruba

/ˈjɒɹʊbə/

//ˈjɒɹʊbə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“Yoruba” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #25,262. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#25,262
frequency rank, English
366
“Y” headwords
8
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A member of an ethnic group or tribe living mainly in southwest Nigeria, southern Benin, and eastern Togo and, as well as in communities elsewhere in West Africa, United States, Brazil and Cuba.

Corpus desk

Index EN-yoruba · Yoruba · English

Yoruba · rank #25,262 · 8 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #25,262
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 366
  • PHOTO-FINISH Yoda

Nearest frequency peer: Yoda (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Yoruba”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Yoruba” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Yoruba
PropertyValue
HeadwordYoruba
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈjɒɹʊbə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#25,262
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Yoruba”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Yorubalands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Yoda” (#25,261), “wynn” (#25,260), “wishful” (#25,258). Among 366 “Y” headwords, “Yoruba” is #25,262. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around Yoruba (IPA /ˈjɒɹʊbə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #25,262 among 366 “Y” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A member of an ethnic group or tribe living mainly in southwest Nigeria, southern Benin, and eastern Togo and, as well as in communities elsewhere in West Africa, United States, Brazil and Cuba.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Yoruba, with forms such as "oyruba", "yorbua", and "yorruba". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Yoruba Yorùbá. The correct English form is Yoruba, spelled Y-O-R-U-B-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A member of an ethnic group or tribe living mainly in southwest Nigeria, southern Benin, and eastern Togo and, as well as in communities elsewhere in West Africa, United States, Brazil and Cuba.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how Yoruba appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Approximately 40 percent of Yorubas in Nigeria are Muslim and 60 percent are Christian. […] Its members express a strong preference for being among Yorubas during their worship service: “Since I am a Yoruba and we Yorubas have our own Church. . . ."

Etymology

Borrowed from Yoruba Yorùbá.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • oyruba
  • yorbua
  • yorruba
  • yoruab
  • yorubba
  • yourba
  • yrouba
  • yyoruba

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Yoruba - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

oyruba2yorbua2yorruba1yoruab2yorubba1yourba2yrouba2yyoruba1
Edit distance from "Yoruba"

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 "Yoruba"?
"Yoruba" is spelled Y-O-R-U-B-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈjɒɹʊbə/.
What does "Yoruba" mean?
As a noun, "Yoruba" means: A member of an ethnic group or tribe living mainly in southwest Nigeria, southern Benin, and eastern Togo and, as well as in communities elsewhere in West Africa, United States, Brazil and Cuba.
What are common misspellings of "Yoruba"?
Common misspellings include "oyruba", "yorbua", "yorruba", "yoruab", "yorubba". The correct spelling is "Yoruba".
How do you pronounce "Yoruba"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Yoruba" is /ˈjɒɹʊbə/. 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 "Yoruba"?
Borrowed from Yoruba Yorùbá. 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Yoruba", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

warhol#25,255astute#25,284tuxedo#25,239topper#25,236

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

whisk8 variantscashed8 variantselicit8 variantseyeball8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list