caballito de mar

[kaβ̞aˈʝit̪o ð̞e ˈmaɾ]

/[kaβ̞aˈʝit̪o ð̞e ˈmaɾ]/ phrase

The verdict

“caballito de mar” is uncommon Spanish (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency Spanish
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - (Hippocampus) Pez pequeño, de cuerpo recubierto por un armazón de placas óseas, cola prensil, que nada en posición vertical impulsándose con la aleta dorsal y cuya cabeza forma un ángulo recto con ...

Key facts for caballito de mar
PropertyValue
Headwordcaballito de mar
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[kaβ̞aˈʝit̪o ð̞e ˈmaɾ]
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “caballito de mar” sits in Spanish frequency

caballito de mar 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.

Rare enough to double-check

caballito de mar is uncommon Spanish outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [kaβ̞aˈʝit̪o ð̞e ˈmaɾ]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "(Hippocampus) Pez pequeño, de cuerpo recubierto por un armazón de placas óseas, cola prensil, que nada en posición vertical impulsándose con la aleta dorsal y cuya cabeza forma un ángulo recto con ...".

caballito de mar doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct Spanish form is caballito de mar, spelled C-A-B-A-L-L-I-T-O- -D-E- -M-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    (Hippocampus) Pez pequeño, de cuerpo recubierto por un armazón de placas óseas, cola prensil, que nada en posición vertical impulsándose con la aleta dorsal y cuya cabeza forma un ángulo recto con respecto a su cuerpo.

Synonyms

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "caballito de mar"?
"caballito de mar" is spelled C-A-B-A-L-L-I-T-O- -D-E- -M-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is [kaβ̞aˈʝit̪o ð̞e ˈmaɾ].
What does "caballito de mar" mean?
As a phrase, "caballito de mar" means: (Hippocampus) Pez pequeño, de cuerpo recubierto por un armazón de placas óseas, cola prensil, que nada en posición vertical impulsándose con la aleta dorsal y cuya cabeza forma un ángulo recto con ...
How do you pronounce "caballito de mar"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "caballito de mar" is [kaβ̞aˈʝit̪o ð̞e ˈmaɾ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "caballito de mar" come from?
"caballito de mar" is a Spanish word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “caballito de mar”

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

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is C-A-B-A-L-L-I-T-O- -D-E- -M-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [kaβ̞aˈʝit̪o ð̞e ˈmaɾ] (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
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