zip-a-dee-doo-dah

intj

"zip-a-dee-doo-dah" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“zip-a-dee-doo-dah” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
17
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An exclamation of happiness.

Corpus desk

Index EN-zip-a-dee-doo-dah · zip-a-dee-doo-dah · English

zip-a-dee-doo-dah · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 17 letters
  • VOW-7 7 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "Z" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for zip-a-dee-doo-dah
PropertyValue
Headwordzip-a-dee-doo-dah
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
Letters17
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “zip-a-dee-doo-dah” in English

zip-a-dee-doo-dahfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

zip-a-dee-doo-dah is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aninterjection. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An exclamation of happiness.".

Zero misspellings are on record for zip-a-dee-doo-dah in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From a song in the Disney movie Song of the South, from “O Zip a duden duden duden zip a duden day”, chorus to an old minstrel song “Zip Coon” popularized by George Washington Dixon The correct English form is zip-a-dee-doo-dah, spelled Z-I-P---A---D-E-E---D-O-O---D-A-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    An exclamation of happiness.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how zip-a-dee-doo-dah appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay, / My oh my, what a wonderful day / Plenty of sunshine headin' my way / Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
  2. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah! What a treat this movie was for kids and adults alike.

Etymology

From a song in the Disney movie Song of the South, from “O Zip a duden duden duden zip a duden day”, chorus to an old minstrel song “Zip Coon” popularized by George Washington Dixon

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "zip-a-dee-doo-dah"?
"zip-a-dee-doo-dah" is spelled Z-I-P---A---D-E-E---D-O-O---D-A-H.
What does "zip-a-dee-doo-dah" mean?
As an interjection, "zip-a-dee-doo-dah" means: An exclamation of happiness.
What is the origin of the word "zip-a-dee-doo-dah"?
From a song in the Disney movie Song of the South, from “O Zip a duden duden duden zip a duden day”, chorus to an old minstrel song “Zip Coon” popularized by George Washington Dixon 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list