iguana
/ɪ.ɡjuˈɑːnə/
"iguana" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“iguana” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #39,853 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #39,853
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A green iguana (Iguana iguana), a large tropical American lizard often kept as a pet.
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 | iguana |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ɪ.ɡjuˈɑːnə/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #39,853 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “iguana” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for iguana is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪ.ɡjuˈɑːnə/. Corpus data places it at rank #39,853 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for iguana, with forms such as "igauna", "igguana", and "iguaan". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Ivana", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Spanish iguana, from Taíno *iwana. The correct English form is iguana, spelled I-G-U-A-N-A.
Definition
- 1A green iguana (Iguana iguana), a large tropical American lizard often kept as a pet.
- 2Any member of the genus Iguana.
- 3In America and the Pacific, any of several members of the lizard family Iguanidae.
- 4In Africa, any large member of the genus Varanus, especially the aquatic Nile monitor (see leguan).
- 5Any member of the genus Varanus (see goanna).
Etymology
Borrowed from Spanish iguana, from Taíno *iwana.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: igauna,igguana,iguaan,iguanna,igunaa,iugana
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of iguana - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 “iguana”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-G-U-A-N-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ɪ.ɡjuˈɑːnə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Ivana” - see the side-by-side comparison. iguana vs Ivana
- 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.