barista

/bəˈɹiːs.tə/

//bəˈɹiːs.tə// noun

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

"barista" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“barista” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,124. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#28,124
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who prepares coffee in a coffee shop for customers.

Corpus desk

Index EN-barista · barista · English

barista · rank #28,124 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #28,124
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH banger

Nearest frequency peer: banger (-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 “barista”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “barista” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

barista vs Batista
71% similar
barista vs Bautista
63% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for barista
PropertyValue
Headwordbarista
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bəˈɹiːs.tə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#28,124
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “barista”

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).baristalands 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 “banger” (#28,123), “basalt” (#28,125), “b4” (#28,122). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “barista” is #28,124. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around barista (IPA /bəˈɹiːs.tə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #28,124 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A person who prepares coffee in a coffee shop for customers.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for barista, with forms such as "abrista", "bairsta", and "barisat". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Batista", "Bautista", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Italian barista (“bartender”, literally “barist”), from bar (from English bar) + -ista (“-ist”); compare barman. The correct English form is barista, spelled B-A-R-I-S-T-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who prepares coffee in a coffee shop for customers.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. "From behind the counter of this provincial train station coffee shop, Joanna was barista and unofficial shrink to wildly varied London-bound travellers," writes author Laline Paull. Confessions of a Barista on Platform 1 was published on February 9 by The Firle Press [...].

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian barista (“bartender”, literally “barist”), from bar (from English bar) + -ista (“-ist”); compare barman.

This word in other languages

barista(Español)barista(Français)Barista(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abrista
  • bairsta
  • barisat
  • barissta
  • baristta
  • baritsa
  • barrista
  • barsita
  • bbarista
  • braista

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

abrista2bairsta2barisat2barissta1baristta1baritsa2barrista1barsita2
Edit distance from "barista"

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 "barista"?
"barista" is spelled B-A-R-I-S-T-A. The IPA pronunciation is /bəˈɹiːs.tə/.
What does "barista" mean?
As a noun, "barista" means: A person who prepares coffee in a coffee shop for customers.
What words are commonly confused with "barista"?
"barista" is commonly confused with "Batista", "Bautista". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "barista"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "barista" is /bəˈɹiːs.tə/. 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 "barista"?
Borrowed from Italian barista (“bartender”, literally “barist”), from bar (from English bar) + -ista (“-ist”); compare barman. 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 "barista", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

belated#28,128Aquinas#28,119Algiers#28,108alameda#28,107

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

alluring10 variantsCandace10 variantsaccorded10 variantsconcave10 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list