pinna

/ˈpɪnə/

//ˈpɪnə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"pinna" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“pinna” is uncommon English (frequency #84,611 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#84,611
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The visible part of the ear in most therians that resides outside of the head, the auricle; outer ear excluding the ear canal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-pinna · pinna · English

pinna · rank #84,611 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #84,611
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH PIF

Nearest frequency peer: PIF (-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 “pinna”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for pinna
PropertyValue
Headwordpinna
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɪnə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#84,611
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “pinna” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).pinnafalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “PIF” (#84,610), “piquet” (#84,612), “Pictou” (#84,609). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “pinna” is #84,611. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pinna is uncommon English at frequency #84,611 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɪnə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for pinna, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin pinna (“dorsal fin; wing, feather”). Doublet of pen, penna, and panne. The correct English form is pinna, spelled P-I-N-N-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    The visible part of the ear in most therians that resides outside of the head, the auricle; outer ear excluding the ear canal.
  2. 2
    A leaflet or primary segment of a pinnate compound leaf.
  3. 3
    A feather, wing, fin, or other similar appendage.

Etymology

From Latin pinna (“dorsal fin; wing, feather”). Doublet of pen, penna, and panne.

This word in other languages

aurícula(Español)pavillon(Français)Ohrmuschel(Deutsch)orelha(Português)

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 "pinna"?
"pinna" is spelled P-I-N-N-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɪnə/.
What does "pinna" mean?
As a noun, "pinna" means: The visible part of the ear in most therians that resides outside of the head, the auricle; outer ear excluding the ear canal.
How do you pronounce "pinna"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pinna" is /ˈpɪnə/. 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 "pinna"?
From Latin pinna (“dorsal fin; wing, feather”). Doublet of pen, penna, and panne. 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 "pinna", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

poore#84,620prang#84,625odder#84,577rajas#84,647

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list