carbón
[kaɾˈβ̞õn]
The verdict
“carbón” is a regularly-used Spanish word, ranked #4,582 in Spanish word frequency and used as a noun.
- #4,582
- frequency rank, Spanish
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Carbono que las plantas verdes han tomado del dióxido de carbono en el aire, metabolizado por medio de la fotosíntesis, y que se ha ido depositando en el suelo, al morir las plantas y quedar enterr...
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | carbón |
| Language | Spanish |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [kaɾˈβ̞õn] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #4,582 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “carbón” sits in Spanish frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The Spanish entry for carbón is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [kaɾˈβ̞õn]. Corpus data places it at rank #4,582 in overall Spanish word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for carbón, with forms such as "acrbón", "carbbón", and "carbnó". 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. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "caro", "cargo", "carro", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct Spanish form is carbón, spelled C-A-R-B-Ó-N.
Definition
- 1Carbono que las plantas verdes han tomado del dióxido de carbono en el aire, metabolizado por medio de la fotosíntesis, y que se ha ido depositando en el suelo, al morir las plantas y quedar enterradas durante millones de años. Las masas vegetales enterradas más antiguas, que datan del periodo carbonífero, se han carbonificado creando la hulla; las más recientes, que datan del terciario, han formado el lignito.
- 2Restos de vegetales que sometidos a una combustión lenta e incompleta, se secan, adquieren un color negro y tienen una gran capacidad calórica como combustible.
- 3Trozo de la materia combustible de color negro procedente de la madera carbonizada o fosilizada, el carbón.
- 4Residuo carbonizado de una fogata, brasero o fuego, alimentado con carbón de piedra, carbón vegetal o leña.
- 5Vara vegetal carbonizada usada para dibujar.
- 6Zoopatía infecciosa, generalmente mortal, que causa inflamaciones musculares y edema en en los rumiantes.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: acrbón,carbbón,carbnó,carbónn,carrbón,carvón,caróbn,ccarbón,crabón
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of carbón - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
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 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "carbón"?
What does "carbón" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “carbón”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Spanish spelling is C-A-R-B-Ó-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [kaɾˈβ̞õn] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “caro” - see the side-by-side comparison. carbón vs caro
- 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.