Guernica

/ɡɚˈni.kə/

//ɡɚˈni.kə// name

"guernica" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Guernica” is uncommon English (frequency #75,927 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,927
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A town in Gernika-Lumo, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain, known as the site of a bombing which was painted by Pablo Picasso.

Corpus desk

Index EN-guernica · Guernica · English

Guernica · rank #75,927 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #75,927
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH grom

Nearest frequency peer: grom (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “Guernica”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “Guernica” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Guernica
PropertyValue
HeadwordGuernica
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ɡɚˈni.kə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#75,927
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Guernica” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).Guernicafalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “grom” (#75,926), “gumby” (#75,928), “Gracchus” (#75,923). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “Guernica” is #75,927. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Guernica is uncommon English at frequency #75,927 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /ɡɚˈni.kə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A town in Gernika-Lumo, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain, known as the site of a bombing which was painted by Pablo Picasso.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Guernica, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Spanish Guernica, from Basque Gernika. The correct English form is Guernica, spelled G-U-E-R-N-I-C-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A town in Gernika-Lumo, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain, known as the site of a bombing which was painted by Pablo Picasso.

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish Guernica, from Basque Gernika.

This word in other languages

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 "Guernica"?
"Guernica" is spelled G-U-E-R-N-I-C-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɚˈni.kə/.
What does "Guernica" mean?
As a proper noun, "Guernica" means: A town in Gernika-Lumo, Biscay, Basque Country, Spain, known as the site of a bombing which was painted by Pablo Picasso.
How do you pronounce "Guernica"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Guernica" is /ɡɚˈni.kə/. 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 "Guernica"?
Borrowed from Spanish Guernica, from Basque Gernika. 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 "Guernica", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list