quesadilla

/ˌkeɪ̯səˈdiː(l)jə/

//ˌkeɪ̯səˈdiː(l)jə// noun

"quesadilla" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“quesadilla” is uncommon English (frequency #64,644 among 288 “Q” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,644
frequency rank, English
288
“Q” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A Mexican dish made by filling a tortilla with cheese and sometimes other ingredients and then cooking it until the cheese is melted.

Corpus desk

Index EN-quesadilla · quesadilla · English

quesadilla · rank #64,644 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #64,644
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 288
  • PHOTO-FINISH Qiao

Nearest frequency peer: Qiao (-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 “quesadilla”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for quesadilla
PropertyValue
Headwordquesadilla
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌkeɪ̯səˈdiː(l)jə/
Letters10
Frequency rank#64,644
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “quesadilla” 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).quesadillafalls 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: “Qiao” (#64,643), “quixotic” (#64,645), “pyroclastic” (#64,641). Among 288 “Q” headwords, “quesadilla” is #64,644. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

quesadilla is uncommon English at frequency #64,644 among 288 “Q” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌkeɪ̯səˈdiː(l)jə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

quesadilla doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Spanish quesadilla. [Alt: Slices of a quesadilla piled on top of one another] The correct English form is quesadilla, spelled Q-U-E-S-A-D-I-L-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A Mexican dish made by filling a tortilla with cheese and sometimes other ingredients and then cooking it until the cheese is melted.
  2. 2
    A Salvadoran pan dulce made with rice flour and queso duro blanco and topped with sesame seeds.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how quesadilla appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. In the Salvadoran bakery, the quesadilla is king, whether cut into squares from a cake tray or baked into discus-sized round coffee cakes.

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish quesadilla. [Alt: Slices of a quesadilla piled on top of one another]

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 "quesadilla"?
"quesadilla" is spelled Q-U-E-S-A-D-I-L-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌkeɪ̯səˈdiː(l)jə/.
What does "quesadilla" mean?
As a noun, "quesadilla" means: A Mexican dish made by filling a tortilla with cheese and sometimes other ingredients and then cooking it until the cheese is melted.
How do you pronounce "quesadilla"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "quesadilla" is /ˌkeɪ̯səˈdiː(l)jə/. 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 "quesadilla"?
Borrowed from Spanish quesadilla. [Alt: Slices of a quesadilla piled on top of one another] 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 "quesadilla", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list