Paraguay
/ˈpæɹ.ə.ɡwaɪ/
"paraguay" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Paraguay” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #21,609 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #21,609
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A country in South America. Official name: Republic of Paraguay. Capital and largest city: Asunción.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Paraguay |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈpæɹ.ə.ɡwaɪ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #21,609 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Paraguay” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Paraguay is 8 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpæɹ.ə.ɡwaɪ/. Corpus data places it at rank #21,609 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Paraguay, with forms such as "apraguay", "paarguay", and "paragauy". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Disputed; from Paraguayan Guarani Payagua (“Pajagua tribe”) y (“water”) or para (“river”) guái (“crown”) or para (“river”) gua (“from”) y (“water”). The correct English form is Paraguay, spelled P-A-R-A-G-U-A-Y.
Definition
- 1A country in South America. Official name: Republic of Paraguay. Capital and largest city: Asunción.
- 2A river in South America that flows into the Paraná, through Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina; in full, the Paraguay River.
Etymology
Disputed; from Paraguayan Guarani Payagua (“Pajagua tribe”) y (“water”) or para (“river”) guái (“crown”) or para (“river”) gua (“from”) y (“water”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: apraguay,paarguay,paragauy,paragguay,paraguayy,paraguya,paraugay,pargauay,parraguay,pparaguay,praaguay
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Paraguay - 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
How do you spell "Paraguay"?
What does "Paraguay" mean?
What are common misspellings of "Paraguay"?
How do you pronounce "Paraguay"?
What is the origin of the word "Paraguay"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Paraguay”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-A-R-A-G-U-A-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpæɹ.ə.ɡwaɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.