chala

[ˈt͡ʃala]

/[ˈt͡ʃala]/ noun

The verdict

“chala” is uncommon Spanish (frequency #59,862 among 8,288 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,862
frequency rank, Spanish
8,288
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Hoja alargada y firme que cubre la mazorca del maíz, usada tradicionalmente como relleno de jergones y como envoltorio de cigarros y preparados culinarios.

Corpus desk

Index ES-chala · chala · Spanish

chala · rank #59,862 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #59,862
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,288
  • PHOTO-FINISH chaka

Nearest frequency peer: chaka (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rangos de cola larga cerca de “chala”

Banda escasa: las barras invierten el rango para que lo raro se lea más corto

corpus weight

What this shows Vista de cola larga: dónde “chala” se sitúa frente a rangos españoles igualmente raros.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for chala
PropertyValue
Headwordchala
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈt͡ʃala]
Letters5
Frequency rank#59,862
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cola larga: rango de “chala” en español

De izquierda a derecha: las pocas palabras que cargan el habla diaria, luego la cola larga casi invisible.chalacae en esta cola de rareza:

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

La escala es logarítmica (cada marca ≈ 10× más rara). Vecinos raros de la misma franja: “chaka” (#59,861), “charts” (#59,863), “cerrillos” (#59,859). Entre 8,288 lemas con “C”, “chala” va en #59,862. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

chala is uncommon Spanish at frequency #59,862 among 8,288 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈt͡ʃala]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for chala, a sign its spelling follows regular Spanish conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct Spanish form is chala, spelled C-H-A-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Hoja alargada y firme que cubre la mazorca del maíz, usada tradicionalmente como relleno de jergones y como envoltorio de cigarros y preparados culinarios.
  2. 2
    Bien que se usa para el pago de otros bienes y servicios y como unidad de medida de la riqueza.
  3. 3
    Picadura de las sumidades floridas de la marihuana, utilizada como psicoactivo.
  4. 4
    Tipo de calzado formado por una suela y correas de sujeción.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. otro cigarrillos de chala que fumaba al tiempo mismo que en números pequeños y prolijos establecía y formalizaba cuentas.
  2. Pasamos a la enramada, que quedaba unida al toldo. Este es siempre de cuero, aquélla de paja, generalmente de chala de maíz.

Synonyms

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 "chala"?
"chala" is spelled C-H-A-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈt͡ʃala].
What does "chala" mean?
As a noun, "chala" means: Hoja alargada y firme que cubre la mazorca del maíz, usada tradicionalmente como relleno de jergones y como envoltorio de cigarros y preparados culinarios.
How do you pronounce "chala"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chala" is [ˈt͡ʃala]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "chala" come from?
"chala" 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.

Similar Spanish words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "chala", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Spanish headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list