paprika

Name: paprika, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/pəˈpɹiːkə/

//pəˈpɹiːkə// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“paprika” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,529. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,529
frequency rank, English: 46,516
“P” headwords: 10
tracked misspellings: 1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Powdered spice made from dried and ground fruits of sweet pepper (bell pepper) or chili pepper (cultivars of Capsicum annuum), or mixtures of these (used especially in Hungarian cooking).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

paprika vs parka

71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for paprika
Property	Value
Headword	paprika
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/pəˈpɹiːkə/
Letters	7
Frequency rank	#30,529
Misspellings tracked	10
Confusable pairs	1
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “paprika” 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). paprika lands here:

#30,529

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around paprika (IPA /pəˈpɹiːkə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #30,529 among 46,516 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for paprika, with forms such as "apprika", "papirka", and "papprika". 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, "parka", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Hungarian paprika, from Serbo-Croatian pàprika, from pȁpar, from Proto-Slavic *pьpьrь, from Latin piper, from Ancient Greek πέπερι (péperi, “pepper”), from Indo-Aryan; compare Sanskrit पिप्पलि (pippali, “long pepper”). Akin to paprikash. The correct English form is paprika, spelled P-A-P-R-I-K-A.

Definition

1
Powdered spice made from dried and ground fruits of sweet pepper (bell pepper) or chili pepper (cultivars of Capsicum annuum), or mixtures of these (used especially in Hungarian cooking).
2
A variety of the spice.
3
A dried but not yet ground fruit of sweet pepper (bell pepper) or chili pepper sold for use as a spice.
4
A bright reddish orange colour resembling that of the ground spice.

Etymology

Borrowed from Hungarian paprika, from Serbo-Croatian pàprika, from pȁpar, from Proto-Slavic *pьpьrь, from Latin piper, from Ancient Greek πέπερι (péperi, “pepper”), from Indo-Aryan; compare Sanskrit पिप्पलि (pippali, “long pepper”). Akin to paprikash.

This word in other languages

pimentón(Español)paprika(Français)Paprika(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

apprika
papirka
papprika
papriak
paprikka
paprkia
paprrika
parpika
ppaprika
pparika

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of paprika - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "paprika"

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 "paprika"?

"paprika" is spelled P-A-P-R-I-K-A. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈpɹiːkə/.

What does "paprika" mean?

As a noun, "paprika" means: Powdered spice made from dried and ground fruits of sweet pepper (bell pepper) or chili pepper (cultivars of Capsicum annuum), or mixtures of these (used especially in Hungarian cooking).

What words are commonly confused with "paprika"?

"paprika" is commonly confused with "parka". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "paprika"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "paprika" is /pəˈpɹiːkə/. 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 "paprika"?

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 “paprika”

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

The one correct English spelling is P-A-P-R-I-K-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /pəˈpɹiːkə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “parka” - see the side-by-side comparison. paprika vs parka
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

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.