favela
/fəˈvɛlə/noun
favela is spelled F-A-V-E-L-A: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 50,539th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, favela means “A slum or shantytown, especially in Brazil” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of favela is favelas.
How many letters and syllables are in favela?
| Letters | 6: F-A-V-E-L-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 50,539th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is favela?
Favela appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 50,539th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce favela?
- /fəˈvɛlə/
Favela has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-ca-favela.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of favela
- favelas plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does favela mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A slum or shantytown, especially in Brazil.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Favela in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense A slum in Brazil:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does favela come from?
Unadapted borrowing from Brazilian Portuguese favela.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).