quinceañera

/ˌkɪnseɪ.ənˈjɛɹə/

//ˌkɪnseɪ.ənˈjɛɹə// noun

"quinceanera" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“quinceañera” is uncommon English (frequency #91,964 among 2,880 “Q” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#91,964
frequency rank, English
2,880
“Q” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The fifteenth birthday and particularly the celebration and ceremony surrounding it for a young Latina woman.

Key facts for quinceañera
PropertyValue
Headwordquinceañera
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌkɪnseɪ.ənˈjɛɹə/
Letters11
Frequency rank#91,964
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “quinceañera” 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). quinceañera lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

quinceañera is uncommon English at frequency #91,964 among 2,880 “Q” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌkɪnseɪ.ənˈjɛɹə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The fifteenth birthday and particularly the celebration and ceremony surrounding it for a young Latina woman.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for quinceañera, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Spanish quinceañera (literally “fifteen-year-old”), feminine of quinceañero, from quince años (“fifteen years”) + -ero. The correct English form is quinceañera, spelled Q-U-I-N-C-E-A-Ñ-E-R-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    The fifteenth birthday and particularly the celebration and ceremony surrounding it for a young Latina woman.

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish quinceañera (literally “fifteen-year-old”), feminine of quinceañero, from quince años (“fifteen years”) + -ero.

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 "quinceañera"?
"quinceañera" is spelled Q-U-I-N-C-E-A-Ñ-E-R-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌkɪnseɪ.ənˈjɛɹə/.
What does "quinceañera" mean?
As a noun, "quinceañera" means: The fifteenth birthday and particularly the celebration and ceremony surrounding it for a young Latina woman.
How do you pronounce "quinceañera"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "quinceañera" is /ˌkɪnseɪ.ənˈjɛɹə/. 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 "quinceañera"?
Borrowed from Spanish quinceañera (literally “fifteen-year-old”), feminine of quinceañero, from quince años (“fifteen years”) + -ero. 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.

Using “quinceañera”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is Q-U-I-N-C-E-A-Ñ-E-R-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˌkɪnseɪ.ənˈjɛɹə/ (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

Other uncommon English words near this rank

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list