gorilla
/ɡəˈɹɪl.ə/
"gorilla" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“gorilla” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #12,613 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #12,613
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 6
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An ape of the genus Gorilla; endemic to the forests of Central Africa and typified by superlative physical size and strength in relation to other primates.
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 | gorilla |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɡəˈɹɪl.ə/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #12,613 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 6 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “gorilla” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for gorilla is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡəˈɹɪl.ə/. Corpus data places it at rank #12,613 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for gorilla, with forms such as "ggorilla", "goirlla", and "gorila". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "grill", "grille", "grills", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek Γόριλλαι (Górillai, “Gorillai (a tribe of hairy women)”), described by Hanno the Navigator, a Carthaginian navigator and possible visitor to the area that later became Sierra Leone; the Greek word is likely from Punic, and ultimately from… The correct English form is gorilla, spelled G-O-R-I-L-L-A.
Definition
- 1An ape of the genus Gorilla; endemic to the forests of Central Africa and typified by superlative physical size and strength in relation to other primates.
- 2A big and brutish man or a thug; a goon or ruffian.
- 3A powerful person or organization; a heavyweight or behemoth.
- 41000 pounds sterling or dollar.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek Γόριλλαι (Górillai, “Gorillai (a tribe of hairy women)”), described by Hanno the Navigator, a Carthaginian navigator and possible visitor to the area that later became Sierra Leone; the Greek word is likely from Punic, and ultimately from an African language.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ggorilla,goirlla,gorila,gorilal,gorlila,gorrilla,groilla,ogrilla
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gorilla - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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
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Using “gorilla”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-O-R-I-L-L-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɡəˈɹɪl.ə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “grill” - see the side-by-side comparison. gorilla vs grill
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.