bonito

noun

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

"bonito" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bonito” is uncommon English (frequency #52,816 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,816
frequency rank, English
31,241
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any of various marine fish of the genus Sarda that are related to and resemble the tuna, but smaller.

Key facts for bonito
PropertyValue
Headwordbonito
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters6
Frequency rank#52,816
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bonito” sits in English 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). bonito 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

bonito is uncommon English at frequency #52,816 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

bonito doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Spanish bonito. The correct English form is bonito, spelled B-O-N-I-T-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of various marine fish of the genus Sarda that are related to and resemble the tuna, but smaller.
  2. 2
    A large tropical fish of species Katsuwonus pelamis (skipjack tuna), allied to the tunny.
  3. 3
    The medregal (Seriola fasciata), an edible fish of the southern United States and the West Indies.
  4. 4
    The cobia or crab eater (Rachycentron canadum), an edible fish of warm waters globally.

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish bonito.

This word in other languages

bonito(Español)Bonito(Deutsch)

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 "bonito"?
"bonito" is spelled B-O-N-I-T-O.
What does "bonito" mean?
As a noun, "bonito" means: Any of various marine fish of the genus Sarda that are related to and resemble the tuna, but smaller.
What is the origin of the word "bonito"?
Borrowed from Spanish bonito. 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.

Using “bonito”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is B-O-N-I-T-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English 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