bestia negra

[ˈbest̪ja ˈneɣ̞ɾa]

/[ˈbest̪ja ˈneɣ̞ɾa]/ phrase

The verdict

“bestia negra” is outside the top-ranked Spanish vocabulary, used as a phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency Spanish
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) — Adversario por el que alguno experimenta particular aversión o animosidad

Key facts for bestia negra
PropertyValue
Headwordbestia negra
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[ˈbest̪ja ˈneɣ̞ɾa]
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bestia negra” sits in Spanish frequency

bestia negra falls outside the top-100,000 ranked Spanish words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Spanish entry for bestia negra is 12 letters long, classified as a phrase, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈbest̪ja ˈneɣ̞ɾa]. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for bestia negra in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable Spanish patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct Spanish form is bestia negra, spelled B-E-S-T-I-A- -N-E-G-R-A, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Adversario por el que alguno experimenta particular aversión o animosidad
  2. 2
    Rival deportivo contra el que regularmente se pierde, contra toda expectativa

Synonyms

bestia parda

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). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “bestia negra, Spanish word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/es/palabra/bestia-negra

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bestia negra"?
"bestia negra" is spelled B-E-S-T-I-A- -N-E-G-R-A. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈbest̪ja ˈneɣ̞ɾa].
What does "bestia negra" mean?
As a phrase, "bestia negra" means: Adversario por el que alguno experimenta particular aversión o animosidad
How do you pronounce "bestia negra"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bestia negra" is [ˈbest̪ja ˈneɣ̞ɾa]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bestia negra" come from?
"bestia negra" is a Spanish word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “bestia negra”

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

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is B-E-S-T-I-A- -N-E-G-R-A - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈbest̪ja ˈneɣ̞ɾa] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words

Nearby Spanish words

Other entries that begin with the letter B in our Spanish index:

Explore PlainSpell

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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list