zulu
/zu.ˈlu/
The verdict
“zulu” has 5 generated spelling variants in the Portuguese index at frequency #22,839. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #22,839
- frequency rank, Portuguese
- 315
- “Z” headwords
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - pertencente ou relativo ao povo zulu, povo africano de origem bantu que habita sobretudo os países da África meridional
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | zulu |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /zu.ˈlu/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #22,839 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “zulu” sits in Portuguese frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 5 spelling variants around zulu (IPA /zu.ˈlu/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #22,839 among 315 “Z” headwords. Dominant gloss: "pertencente ou relativo ao povo zulu, povo africano de origem bantu que habita sobretudo os países da África meridional".
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for zulu, with forms such as "uzlu", "zluu", and "zullu". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "zum", "zu", "zelo", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct Portuguese form is zulu, spelled Z-U-L-U.
Definition
- 1pertencente ou relativo ao povo zulu, povo africano de origem bantu que habita sobretudo os países da África meridional
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- uzlu
- zluu
- zullu
- zuul
- zzulu
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of zulu - 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.
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
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Using “zulu”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Portuguese spelling is Z-U-L-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /zu.ˈlu/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “zum” - see the side-by-side comparison. zulu vs zum
- Browse more Portuguese words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Portuguese words
Same frequency band
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.