tilapia

/təˈlɑːpiə/

//təˈlɑːpiə// noun

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

"tilapia" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tilapia” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #45,123. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#45,123
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
9
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of various edible fish, formerly species of the genus Tilapia, but now placed in other cichlid genera (such as Oreochromis), native to Africa and the Middle East but cultivated worldwide.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tilapia · tilapia · English

tilapia · rank #45,123 · 9 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #45,123
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH tics

Nearest frequency peer: tics (-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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “tilapia”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “tilapia” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for tilapia
PropertyValue
Headwordtilapia
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/təˈlɑːpiə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#45,123
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tilapia”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).tilapialands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “tics” (#45,122), “timbre” (#45,124), “tiptoe” (#45,125). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tilapia” is #45,123. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around tilapia (IPA /təˈlɑːpiə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #45,123 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for tilapia, with forms such as "itlapia", "tialpia", and "tilaipa". 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. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Tilapia, from Tswana tlhapi (“fish”). The drag race slang usage is a reference to the comment by Gia Gunn on entering Ru Paul's Drag Race (season 6) "Just landed like fresh tilapia". The correct English form is tilapia, spelled T-I-L-A-P-I-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any of various edible fish, formerly species of the genus Tilapia, but now placed in other cichlid genera (such as Oreochromis), native to Africa and the Middle East but cultivated worldwide.
  2. 2
    A fishy (resembling a cisgender woman) drag queen; a drag queen who could pass for a woman, as opposed to one who is exaggeratedly feminine.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Well I dined last night with Scarface Ron On tilapia fishcakes and fried black swan.
  2. Vietnamese tilapia Plastique Tiara was at the forefront of one of Drag Race's most controversial eliminations earlier this year. Although the Texan performer and biological woman was leaving us gooped week-after-week with her runways, she was – spoiler alert! – eliminated in eighth place after lip-syncing against Miss Vanjie, despite having a better track…

Etymology

Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Tilapia, from Tswana tlhapi (“fish”). The drag race slang usage is a reference to the comment by Gia Gunn on entering Ru Paul's Drag Race (season 6) "Just landed like fresh tilapia".

This word in other languages

tilapia(Español)tilapia(Français)Tilapia(Deutsch)tilápia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • itlapia
  • tialpia
  • tilaipa
  • tilapai
  • tilappia
  • tillapia
  • tilpaia
  • tliapia
  • ttilapia

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

itlapia2tialpia2tilaipa2tilapai2tilappia1tillapia1tilpaia2tliapia2
Edit distance from "tilapia"

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 "tilapia"?
"tilapia" is spelled T-I-L-A-P-I-A. The IPA pronunciation is /təˈlɑːpiə/.
What does "tilapia" mean?
As a noun, "tilapia" means: Any of various edible fish, formerly species of the genus Tilapia, but now placed in other cichlid genera (such as Oreochromis), native to Africa and the Middle East but cultivated worldwide.
What are common misspellings of "tilapia"?
Common misspellings include "itlapia", "tialpia", "tilaipa", "tilapai", "tilappia". The correct spelling is "tilapia".
How do you pronounce "tilapia"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tilapia" is /təˈlɑːpiə/. 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 "tilapia"?
Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Tilapia, from Tswana tlhapi (“fish”). The drag race slang usage is a reference to the comment by Gia Gunn on entering Ru Paul's Drag Race (season 6) "Just landed like fresh tilapia". 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 "tilapia", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tongued#45,127Tacitus#45,114trestle#45,134unfunny#45,144

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Tonkin9 variantsunneeded9 variantsSoriano9 variantssorbet9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list