karaté

/ka.ɾa.ˈtɛ/

//ka.ɾa.ˈtɛ// noun

The verdict

“karaté” is an uncommon Portuguese word, ranked #55,648 in Portuguese word frequency and used as a noun.

#55,648
frequency rank, Portuguese
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - espécie de combate de origem japonesa

Key facts for karaté
PropertyValue
Headwordkaraté
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ka.ɾa.ˈtɛ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#55,648
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “karaté” sits in Portuguese 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). karaté 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 Portuguese entry for karaté is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ka.ɾa.ˈtɛ/. Corpus data places it at rank #55,648 in overall Portuguese word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "espécie de combate de origem japonesa".

No misspelling variants are generated for karaté in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct Portuguese form is karaté, spelled K-A-R-A-T-É.

Definition

  1. 1
    espécie de combate de origem japonesa

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 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "karaté"?
"karaté" is spelled K-A-R-A-T-É. The IPA pronunciation is /ka.ɾa.ˈtɛ/.
What does "karaté" mean?
As a noun, "karaté" means: espécie de combate de origem japonesa
How do you pronounce "karaté"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "karaté" is /ka.ɾa.ˈtɛ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "karaté" come from?
"karaté" is a Portuguese word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “karaté”

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

  • The one correct Portuguese spelling is K-A-R-A-T-É - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ka.ɾa.ˈtɛ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more Portuguese words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Portuguese 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