mayday

/ˈmeɪ.deɪ/

//ˈmeɪ.deɪ// noun

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

The verdict

“mayday” is uncommon Portuguese (frequency #53,997 among 2,261 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,997
frequency rank, Portuguese
2,261
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - pedido de socorro internacional emitido por navio ou aeronave

Key facts for mayday
PropertyValue
Headwordmayday
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmeɪ.deɪ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#53,997
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mayday” 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). mayday lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

mayday is uncommon Portuguese at frequency #53,997 among 2,261 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈmeɪ.deɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "pedido de socorro internacional emitido por navio ou aeronave".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for mayday, suggesting the orthography follows predictable Portuguese patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct Portuguese form is mayday, spelled M-A-Y-D-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    pedido de socorro internacional emitido por navio ou aeronave

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 "mayday"?
"mayday" is spelled M-A-Y-D-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmeɪ.deɪ/.
What does "mayday" mean?
As a noun, "mayday" means: pedido de socorro internacional emitido por navio ou aeronave
How do you pronounce "mayday"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mayday" is /ˈmeɪ.deɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "mayday" come from?
"mayday" 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 “mayday”

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

  • The one correct Portuguese spelling is M-A-Y-D-A-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈmeɪ.deɪ/ (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

Other uncommon Portuguese words near this rank

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